Big 'SUR' iously? and Trolleys

Hello everyone!! Sorry for the delay! I've just had the best visitor though and she filled my days with so much joy, laughter and sunshine that I simply did not have time to write. Excuses, excuses.....I know! I'll get right to it... and check back for my post that will detail our week. She took lots of pictures so I promise to include a few!

Psalm 36:6 "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep"

Last I wrote, little George and I had arrived home on Sunday, 9/29, after a fun filled weekend at Lindsay and Dan's wedding.

Tuesday afternoon we left on our road trip to Northern California. Obviously, that left this neat freak one full day to do laundry, clean house, un-pack and re-pack for a week's worth of adventures that spanned from tent camping to nice dinners in San Francisco. Monday was a doozy. I got almost everything done but I had counted on Preschool on Tuesday to help me finish my "to-do list". Tuesday morning I got a call to help in the classroom at preschool because someone was sick. I felt SO horrible but told them I simply could not. I needed every last minute of preparation time if I was to be ready when George got home from work at 3:00 pm. He would be ready to roll so I needed to be ready too. Anyone heard of LA traffic? You certainly do not want to leave your house for a five hour road trip right in the middle of 5:00 traffic. Well, all was on schedule until George's boss asked George to drive him to the airport...at 3:30pm. That put us right in the middle of 5:00 traffic to start our five hour road trip. yep. It was not the best road trip we had ever been on. The moment we saw the water off of the PCH though, both our moods changed drastically. Around 11:30 pm we arrived at our campsite in Big Sur. The place was called Riverside Campground and Cabins. George set up our tent and we nestled in around midnight. Little George thought he had died and gone to heaven. First time in a tent. Nuff said. We awoke to a chilly fall morning and big George got up to get me coffee. That saint. We set out to find a waterfall that flows out of a mountain into the ocean. We found it and it was spectacular. We saw redwoods, and views from high mountains of the ocean. It was incredible. A dear friend described Big Sur as an obsession and there was no way I could relate to that until I saw those views. I will post pictures, but it was so much better than the pictures. They hardly do it justice. Little George was such a trooper and hiked most of the way himself. He got so so so dirty and it so happened that he hiked in his best clothes for the week. Oh well, what can you do....
We went back to the campsite and ate a picnic lunch of salami, avocado, goat brie and an apple for everyone. We checked into our cabin for our second night and it was so adorable. One room, two double beds, a shower, sink and refrigerator. Little George took a little rest and George relaxed on the patio. I did dishes, and tried to clean up our seemingly constant explosion that was the car and our overnight bags. That night we went to my new favorite place in California. An overlook with the most irresistible views. A restaurant called Nepenthe sits on this overlook and blends perfectly with the landscape. They used the same materials to build the restaurant as are naturally found in the area so it was almost as if it belonged there. There was no competition for the eye, you are drawn to the view, the ocean, the majestic mountains and the scintillating sunset. It was cool but not too cold to sit outside and just expensive enough to where we only ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine. At first we thought the wine much too expensive but after one taste, we knew it was special. I've never tasted better wine. Little George got a special drink too and thought he was somebody. We'll call it a Roy Rogers without caffeine so it does not sound so girly. He was hyped, we were subdued. I am still not sure this is a good combo but at any rate, I count this evening the highlight of my week. That night we roasted hot dogs over an open fire in the fire pit at our cabin. Then we made.... drum roll please......s'mores! It was such a special night for our little family of three. We all slept well after our long hike, great food and plenty of fresh air and woke up excited about our next adventure. Three hours of pure gorgeousness gave new meaning to the term "the scenic route". We made it to the city of San Francisco and were quite amazed at how expansive it was. Once we found our hotel we were all tired and a bit cranky and in need of food, rest and a little family love. Good thing we found Grammy and G-daddy right away!! Our rooms were not yet ready but Grammy was 100% ready for George. And George was 200% ready for her. We lost 2/5 of our party to hand conferences so Grammy, George and I went to lunch. We just soaked each other up for a good long while and enjoyed a good salad and some hot tea and then went back to the hotel to see if our rooms were ready. They were so we retreated for naps. Once everyone had rested we reunited with the other two George's and went to dinner. I can almost hear Grammy's laugh from where I sit now, neither of us were big fans of the place we went. "The Golden Era"-Vegetarian. I do not know if it was the Buddha statue that stared at us as we walked in the door or the comments from the peanut gallery about Obamacare as we passed in the night that turned us off more but we were not terribly pleased with this choice in the midst of some of the best food in America. Once the food came, it was not bad at all, really I loved my fake italian sausage and tofo filet mignon (Thats not at all what I ordered-totally in jest- but it gives you an idea of some of the items that were available for our consumption). I think it was just the idea of so many good restaurants that were surely right down the alley (and more "up our alley" if you will) but the inability to find them or wait for very long in a nice place with the ticking time bomb that is our son. All in all, its the people you are with not the food that you eat that matters. And we had a really nice time. The next day I was determined to try at least one place that had been recommended to me. I walked to Blue Bottle Coffee about two blocks away from our hotel and it knocked my socks off. A Gibraltar or Cortado- whatever you wish to call it, it was in my belly after a long- but well worth it- wait. I finally figured out the difference between a Gibraltar and a Cortado. The term Gibraltar was actually created in San Fran so it was nice of the barista to not look at my funny. It has two shots of espresso topped with four ounces of steamed milk. They are basically the same, but Cortado (if both are on the menu) is a slightly longer pour of milk. So there you go, you cannot say I never taught you anything. Enough about my morning coffee. Grammy and I set out on our own adventure when I returned. We found Golden Gate Park and had a grand morning. I went for a much needed run and Grammy and George scooted and spent some time together. What a beautiful park. I set out to find the water because having looked at a map, I knew one edge of the seven mile diameter abutted the ocean. I had no idea where to look but somehow ended up with the wind in my hair and the salt in my face. The older I get the more I believe I inherited my daddy's salty blood. I can just smell my way to any ocean. We came back to the hotel and George napped in Grammy's room. I went on a mission to find my friend Lauren. Her husband is also at this conference and she's stuck here without a Grammy and with a not even one year old. Bless her. I went to the gift shop and got cookies and the best chocolate I could find plus two club sodas. I finally found her and we spent about an hour together as we hashed out the details of the last few days worth of adventures. Again, can I say how thankful I am for her? I am so thankful for a friend to experience all of this weirdly difficult but fun journey. The cookies and chocolate worked their magic and we both felt better about the craziness of the past few days after our talk. Our husbands had a dinner that night so Grammy and G-daddy invited her to dinner with us. She got as far as the front door and then it was the little one's bedtime. I got a little farther; George lasted until my fig, proscuitto and goat cheese pizza was placed before me and then he melted almost like the mozzerella on the pie. I picked him up, thanked the grands and asked if they would please deliver my dinner to my room. Sleepy babies make the worst dinner dates. *Smile* but the BEST snugglers. George and I snuggled a while before he fell asleep. The next morning we had to say goodbye to our sweet sweet Grammy and G-daddy. George took the day off and we decided it would not be a trip to San Francisco without a trolley ride. We waited in a 45 minute line to board and bobbed up and down the steep hills of the streets of San Fran. What a thrill! What a bucket list item, right?! We rode all the way to the pier and then shared a bread bowl of crab chowder. Then we made our way to the Elephant Seals and wow, did they put on a show! There are probably 100 seals on the docks. They grunt and bark and shoulder each other. Ok, let me change that, the MALES bark and grunt and shoulder each other off the docks and the females are straight- chillin'. What a life! It was incredible to watch these animals in their semi- natural environment and not behind the glass of a zoo. We probably stood there for a good 45 minutes. After we finally tired of the seals, we caught a taxi back to the hotel. If you think this does not deserve a sentence or two you are wrong. The hills were crazy scary and the cabby did not even seem to notice. I think he smirked most of the time and laughed out loud at our ignorance more than once. We made it back to the hotel in one piece and then took the car to Golden Gate park where we had hoped to settle into some bluegrass and other music at the Hardly Strickly Bluegrass Festival. This is where the story starts to go downhill so suffice it to say that we left San Francisco in much the way we came- confused, tearful and road raged- but this time I had a twisted right ankle to boot (I had boots on too coincidentally). Basically I fell out of the car as I tried to save a spot for us. Another car tried to back into the spot where I flailed helplessly on the ground. AND a spider tried to attack me in my moment of weakness. Just imagine me as I tried to exterminate with my bad foot and limp with my good one. God- are spiders really necessary??????? You will be happy to hear that I was not in fact backed over or eaten by the spider- my good husband came to my rescue and scooped me up just in time. Have you ever seen the Austin Powers movie where the steamroller is about to roll over them and it is sooooooo sloooooooow? It reminded me of that. Anyway. We nixed the Bluegrass Festival and decided to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge instead. It was probably the best decision anyway.

We made it to Mary and Steve's abode and I had never been happier to see such a cozy place away from city life with dinner prepared for me and where no google maps were necessary to make it to the bathroom or the bedroom or anywhere for at least twelve hours. We had a grilled chicken and veggies and some seasonal pumpkin ale. It was heaven at that moment. They were so gracious and wonderful and treated us like family. Mary even read stories to George with me and that was one of the most special moments of our friendship to me. Its incredible to have your dear friends really know your children. We awoke and they sent us on our lengthy journey with coffee and a full belly. I gave her a bag of Blue Bottle Coffee and I left with four bags of deliciousness. That's a good friend. I should note that by the time we left Mary and little George found they had a lot in common. Start with blankie, then pound puppy, neither really love to shower....just had to throw that in. What special friends and special times. The fact that I am not alone on the West Coast comforts me. We made it home that afternoon at 3:00 and I laundered and cleaned and un-packed all afternoon- with a sore ankle. George and I knocked it all out though and fell into bed early. Good trip. We were now exhausted but had experienced so much since we left almost a week before.

Psalm 36:6 "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep"