California Spring Break - Day 6

The Hampton Inn advertised a hot breakfast and the girls were looking forward to the

possibility of waffles for breakfast. They were not disappointed. This was the first hotel in the

past two years that has had an actual breakfast instead of a bagged fare with an orange,

muffin, and some kind of juice.

We left our luggage and the van parked at the hotel. Valet parking in San Francisco was

$50 + 15% tax.

 

Our day started with an Urban Adventure Quest scavenger hunt in downtown San Francisco.

We set off in the wrong direction at first, turned around, and walked back.

 

Yes, there were a lot of homeless people around.

 

The scavenger had us stopping at Yerba Buena Park for our first set of clues. We spent a couple of hours on Wednesday morning and into the early afternoon discovering parts of downtown San Francisco and learning more of the history of the area.

We found clues at:

Union Square

Chinatown

The Cable Car Museum

Kristen had to have a few nose plugging shots similar to the last time we visited San Francisco when she was 5.

We took the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf and continued with clues in Ghirardelli Square (FYI there were no free chocolates at the Ghirardelli Shop) and finished our scavenger hunt at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park.

It was lunch time and we were all hungry. Chris found us a bus to Presidio (a 1,500-acre park at the Golden Gate Bridge on a former military post).

Lunch was at Pizza By the Slice. I lucked out with a huge salad a meatballs while the other three had pizza.

Our time in San Francisco was running out quickly. We walked around the Presidio and noted the Lodge, the Disney Museum, the Yoda Fountain, and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Palace of Fine Arts in the day time.

We stopped at a small fortune cookie making factory.

Cool art wall.

Chris ordered an Uber since there were no buses that would get us back to the hotel in time.

Unfortunately, even though Chris called to request our van be brought to the front door, the valet service dropped the ball and didn't even go to get the van until we got there. That took another 20 minutes and slowly ate away at the time planned for getting to the airport. We still had to get gas as well.

We finally reached the airport, dropped off the van, took the train from the rental car tower to Terminal 3 at the airport and raced to gate 17 after passing through security. Our flight was boarding as we arrived.

California Spring Break - Day 5

We checked out of the VRBO this morning, gassed up at Costco, and started back toward San Jose.

Amy had a flight to catch around 4 pm, so we had the day to explore.

 

Since the sun was shining, I requested a stop at Capitola again for a few more pictures of the colorful homes on a bright sunshiny day.

Perfect with the reflection.

Our next stop was at the wharf in Santa Cruz. The girls looked for souvenirs. The water around the pier was busy with families playing at the beach, some people swimming, a few boaters, and plenty of seals barking and playing in the water. The seals were pretty noisy and entertaining.

 

Chris and I wanted to check out the Santa Cruz Lighthouse and arch rocks along the coast. We wandered through the trees before finally deciding we weren’t all that close to the lighthouse. As we headed to the road, we came across the Steamer Lane Supply lunch spot. It had people lined up outside for takeaway and looked liked a popular spot.

 

Chris got in line and texted the girls to come and have lunch.

I spied the lighthouse and went to take a few pictures while Chris waited in line.

 

It was the perfect spot for lunch. Again, four of us had fish tacos and Kristen had a hot dog.

 

Chris mentioned a covered bridge close by and stopped so I could get a few pictures. We then continued on to Crowell State Park for a short “hike” (no elevation gain this time). We walked less than a mile along the Redwood Grove Loop Trail. Add on the extra mile in and mile out and it was a perfect jaunt for the afternoon.

 

And then sherbet at Penny Ice Creamery. Chris, Amy, Misha and Kristen were talking about the flavors they wanted to choose and I suggested they just get a pint of one flavor and share. That was definitely the cheaper option and everyone seemed to agree on Lemon Sherbet. (Non-ice cream since Amy has to avoid dairy as much as possible.)

We had just enough time to get Amy to the airport at 4 pm.

The four of us continued on to San Francisco. Instead of going to the hotel first, Misha suggested we go check out the bridge and get some sunset pictures. We were a little early for sunset but just in time for dinner.

 

Again, Yelp for the win. I found Pearl 1601. We didn’t realize it would be as spendy as it was, but this time the food was definitely great. It was all freshly made pasta with cheese based sauces. Amy wouldn’t have appreciated it.

 

Sunset was beginning as we exited the restaurant. Chris drove us toward the bridge. We stopped first on the East side of the bridge for some great shots and then drove to the Fort Point side for more shots looking at the bridge with the sun in the foreground.

Beautiful.

 

Our final stop was at the Palace of Fine Arts before settling in at the Hampton Inn in downtown San Francisco.

California Spring Break - Day 4

In his research, Chris discovered 17-mile Drive in the upscale Pebble Beach neighborhood. And yes, there was a charge to enter the neighborhood. ~$11.50

The first stop along the drive was Spanish Bay Beach. We arrived around 9:30 am and it was beautiful with no wind and a fabulously care for sandy beach.

The girls had fun playing along the beach while Chris and I walked along the boardwalk and stopped to explore the tide pools. We always have fun looking for star fish. We didn’t find any but it was such a great time just exploring and enjoying the beach.

 

Some of the other stops along the 17-Mile Drive are:

• Point Joe
• China Rock
• Bird Rock (which is covered in bird poop)
• Seal Rock (didn’t see any seals on it)
• Fan Shell Beach (we did see seals basking in the sunshine here)
• Crocker Grove (oldest living Monterey Cypress trees here)
• Loan Cypress
• Visitor Center (nothing too impressive unless you are wowed by golf and the Famous Pebble Beach Golf Tournament that takes place here)

Using Yelp, I found a place for lunch back in Monterey. A food truck called “Wedo’s Tacos”. It was pretty yummy. Four of us got fish tacos and Kristen had chicken fingers and fries. I was wishing the fish in the tacos wasn’t deep fried.

 

Cannery Row was our next stop. We found parking along the street, added funds to the meter and wandered around the few streets of Cannery Row for awhile. It was a typical tourist area with candy shops, small cafes and restaurants, and souvenir shops.

 

We could have also visited the Monterey Aquarium there but opted to forgo that since it was $40-50 per person.

 

Amy had some homework to do so we dropped the girls off at the VRBO.

 

Chris and I drove back along the Pacific Coast Highway and around Carmel a bit. We found a cool neighborhood recreation area that had tennis courts and … a field of sheep. I had to stop and get a picture (wishing, of course, that the sheep would come closer to the fence). Look how big and fluffy they are!

Chris and I also stopped at the Carmel Mission but it was closed. I was able to still get a few pictures from the stone perimeter.

We started back to the rental where the girls had been working on cooking a lasagna we bought at Costco, making a salad, and buttering and toasting a loaf of french bread.

 

It was a yummy dinner and nice to just have a relaxing evening.

 

Amy continued to work on homework and took a test online to round out the evening.

California Spring Break - Day 3

We listened to our church meeting on Zoom Sunday morning and then set off for a day of exploring along the Pacific Coast Highway toward Big Sur.

Chris purchased a GyPSy Guide audio tour for us to listen to as we drove. It cleverly pointed out scenic locations, places to stop, and gave the history of the area. I highly recommend trying the GyPSy Guide audio tours (affiliate link) if you have never listened to one before.

 

Misha had a “lighting” photography assignment due, so she was just as anxious to make stops to take pictures as me!

 

After purchasing a few more snacks and drinks in Carmel-by-the-Sea, we were on our way.

 

I loved this field scattered with cows grazing in it right next to the ocean. Happy cows.

The conversation in our car, "If I couldn't be a happy cow in Switzerland, I would want to be one right here!"

We spent a little time at Bixby Bridge taking pictures and then enjoyed additional stops along the route.

 

Pfeiffer State Park offered a hike to a small waterfall called Pfeiffer Falls. While the girls may not have been too thrilled with the prospect of hiking, they were good sports along the way. We found the falls and then continued on the Valley View Trail. It wasn’t quiet as "un-elevated" as we thought it might be! Oh well, an excursion disguised as exercise.

 

There were a few redwoods stands in this park; nothing like Jedediah State Park, but still great beautiful.

The girls couldn’t complain too much since Chris treated them to ice cream and sherbet at the Café and Restaurant after the hike.

The audio tour recommended that we stop at Pfeiffer Beach. We had paid an entrance fee at the state park which unfortunately did not apply at Pfeiffer Beach. The State Park was about $10 to enter. Pfeiffer Beach was an additional $11.25.

 

I am going to venture a guess and say that Pfeiffer Beach is windy all of the time. The sand whipped against our legs and bodies with a feeling of being sandblasted. It was not pleasant. While the beach was beautiful, it was definitely an experience!

 

We stopped next at a popular view spot and café. We weren’t planning to eat here, but just wanted to take some pictures of the view. The girls opted to stay in the car while Chris and I explored.

 

The Nepenthe café seems like it would be an awesome place to stop for lunch though if you happen to be in the area. If the parking lot was any indication, it was a popular spot.

 

The girls were napping, so Chris and I were the only ones that got out at Sand Dollar Beach. If you had to choose between Sand Dollar and Pfeiffer Beach, I would definitely choose Sand Dollar. Sadly, we didn’t find any sand dollars which some had said were plentiful. Nor did we find any jade. State law says you can keep what you find as long as you can carry it!

The beach was beautiful. Chris and I attempted walking all the way along the sandy part of the beach to avoid the bigger harder-to-walk-on rocks. Just as I was about half way through the section where I thought my feet might get wet, a huge wave came and soaked me up to my thighs! And then another came. And another wave. Back to the rocks for me.

 

At this point, we still had a long way to go to complete the GyPSy Guide tour. We didn’t think we would make it all the way to San Luis Obispo, but Chris wanted to continue on to Hearst Castle.

 

Before we reached the castle, we stopped at Elephant Seal Beach and watched the seals. They were still having mid afternoon naps, so while there were some noisy seals in the bunch, there wasn’t a whole lot of movement.

And sadly, when we reached Hearst Castle not too much further down the road, we found that it was closed. Boo.

 

We started the long trek back to Seaside.

 

There weren’t too many places to stop for dinner along the way, so when we reached Gorda, we decided to stop for dinner at Whale Watcher Cafe. It was very spendy and not the best meal we’ve ever had. Oh well, $150 later, it filled the empty spots. From Gorda we had a two-hour drive.

 

We had a fabulous view of the sun setting. Chris pulled over at a pull out overlooking the ocean and we watched the sun go down.

Driving along the Pacific Coast Highway is highly recommended.

California Spring Break - Day 2

Amy’s flight was delayed. She worked with Chris to find another flight, but wasn’t too successful.

She was delayed for two hours and then more and then more. She changed to another flight that

got in about twenty minutes earlier than her original flight.

 

While we waited for Amy, Chris took the girls to McDonalds for breakfast and then we found a

Farmer’s Market. The fruit and produce looked awesome. Too bad we weren’t closer to home!

We did buy some strawberries though and they were quite delicious.

We still had more time to wait before Amy arrived (her flight kept getting pushed back) so we found a rose garden to visit. Unfortunately we were about a month early in the rose season. Give it a little more time and the rose garden would have been overflowing with blossoms.

 

Our last stop to pass the time before picking up Amy was at a Flea Market not too far from the airport. It had a very strong Hispanic influence on the types of goods sold and vendors selling. Their produce was equally tempting and reasonably priced.

 

Finally, Amy's flight landed and we drove the short distance to the airport to pick her up. It

was nice to be together as a family. We keep saying, “This is the one of the last times we will

all travel together…” at some point it will be true.

 

Before heading to our VRBO in Seaside, California, we stopped for groceries (snacks, water,

more strawberries, milk).

 

I found a cool little Mexican restaurant and we made a quick stop there is well. It was pretty

popular, but we were able to order fairly quickly and find a table. It was delicious. It had a salsa

bar, and we were able to try as much of the flavors as we wanted. I think the roasted salsa and

green tomatillo salsa were the favorites.

Our next stop was Capitola. It was a cute little seaside town with distinctive colorful homes right along the beach and boardwalk. I found some great spots for picture-taking between a few of the buildings across the way and snapped away.

It poured for much of the day; good thing we brought rain jackets.

 

We arrived at our VRBO in Seaside and were pleasantly surprised. It had three bedrooms with

beds for everyone, a nice kitchen and comfy couches. Amy and Kristen promptly found some

blankets and stretched out for naps.

 

Chris and I decided to go exploring and found Cannery Row in Monterey to visit on Monday.

 

We came home with pizza and salad for dinner and then watched the Adam Project afterward.

 

Amy and Kristen stayed up late chatting. They were in the living room right outside our room

and kept me up, but since they hadn’t seen each other for a bit, I just let them talk. Chris finally

asked them to be quiet after they woke him up and they headed off to bed.

California Spring Break - Day 1

We had a late flight on Friday evening (March 18th). Kristen opted out of staying for tennis and came home to finish packing. We left the house around 5:30 pm and planned to meet Misha at the airport for a quick dinner before our flight.

Misha had Spring Break at the same time as Kristen so that worked out perfectly.

 

Amy didn’t have Spring Break at all, but wanted to come to California too. She would be arriving Saturday morning and then leaving mid-afternoon on Tuesday (the rest of us would leave on Wednesday evening).

 

We were happy to see that Pikes Peak parking lot was open. It had been closed even before Covid happened to have some paving done and then never really opened back up. There was very little paving done which seemed crazy. We thought they would have repaved the entire lot! Still, it was so much closer for us to park there than at the Parking Spot which adds at least twenty minutes onto our time for getting to the airport.

 

We used Chris Priority Plus perk with his travel credit card and had dinner at Sweetwater Mountain Tap House. It was all the way at the end of concourse B in the opposite direction of where we needed to board later, but he received over $50 in credit toward a meal.

 

Misha joined us shortly after we were seated, and we had a pretty quick dinner.

 

We walked "Kline speed" back through that concourse to the other B concourse for our boarding.

 

Chris and I were upgraded to business class. Since we had already eaten, we declined the dinner service and just enjoyed the extra comfy seats.

 

After landing, we took the train to the rental car area and picked up a minivan. Yep, so totally not cool, but it would fit the five of us so much better.

 

We stayed at the Hilton in San Jose so that we would be closer to pick up Amy in the morning when she arrived.

 

Update on Shannoy from my Pathways Class

The young girl in my Pathways Class who received a Book of Mormon from the Elders has met

with them twice now. She seems very shy to talk about her experience, but it is cool to know

that she is investigating the church.

I have another girl in my class who is a member but does not have a Book of Mormon or a Bible. I suggested that the next time she sees the missionaries she ask them for a copy. She should at least get a soft cover copy of the Book of Mormon, maybe a Bible.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have an impact on lives around the world.