On one of our days while we were staying in San Jose with Dan’s parents, we took a drive down to San Juan Bautista and Monterey. I’ve been to Monterey before, but it was nice to visit again as well as to visit the Spanish mission at San Juan Bautista for the first time. There’s so much history behind the mission that it was really fascinating to tour the grounds, and it was extra interesting to me because it was where they filmed some of the most memorable scenes in my favorite Hitchcock films Vertigo!
Mio with her grandparents!
Walking hand in hand with Grandma
Another nice picture with Dan’s parents.
Mio and Grandma looking at each other. So cute!
A child’s bedroom with toys at the mission. The amount of detail on the toy kitchen and dollhouse is amazing! Complete with creepy dolls…
A statue of Fray Junipero Serra
Mission San Juan Bautista, established in 1797.
The vibrant interior of the church at Mission San Juan Bautista
After spending about an hour at the mission, we continued down south until we arrived at Monterey, where we walked down Cannery Row and checked out the ocean from there.
The beach by Cannery Row.
Gazing into Daddy’s eyes
Another great photo with Dan and his parents.
Mio distracted by the dogs as we walk down Cannery Row.
After exploring Cannery Row, we moved onto walk around Lovers Point Park!
Mio coming face to face with a squirrel. 🙂
Mio is all smiles!
Statue of a boy at Lovers Point Park
Going out onto the rocks at Lovers Point Park.
I touched a live starfish for the first time!
Mio seeing a starfish for the first time. She was very curious!
It was a very laid back, memorable day trip where we got to see a lot of sights, both new and familiar! 🙂 California has so many beautiful sights to see, and it was so nice to have some time to go visit some of them during our visit!
My last day of work was Friday of last week, and Dan and I went on a weekend trip to celebrate! Dan’s parents very graciously offered to watch Mio for the weekend so that we could fully relax and enjoy our getaway, so it was awesome! 🙂 Although we have both been to Carmel and Monterey in the past, we had both never been to Big Sur, and we had talked about going for a while… so we decided this was the weekend to make it happen! We spent most of the first day at Big Sur, and then headed back to Carmel where we spent much of Sunday. Here are some pictures from the first day…
Coastal view along the 17-Mile Drive... gorgeous!
By the Bixby Bridge
A haze above the waters
A natural bridge at the foot of the cliffs
It looked like paradise!
The highlight of Big Sur was definitely the McWay Cove at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park! It has the most stunning views, and I think it’s safe to say that it is the place most people come to see when they go to Big Sur.
Arriving at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Us admiring the view below.
The McWay Cove was probably one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen… it looks like something from a movie. (Dan and I agreed that it was even more beautiful than anything we saw in Hawaii!) Alas, it was almost like looking at a painting you couldn’t touch, because no one is allowed to go down there. It’s too dangerous, especially with all the rocky cliffs jutting out and strong waves that can pull you out to sea. Dan was itching to jump the rail and climb down to the beach, but I stopped him from breaking the law (and risking orphaning Mio) with my voice of reason. 😉
McWay Cove... It doesn't get much more beautiful than this!
The waterfall running into the sea
Breathtaking shoreline... turquoise waters and sandy beaches.
Afterwards, we continued to drive around the area and stopped at trails here and there to check out more views. Thankfully (for me), the trails were all pretty short and never too rigorous, so a less-than-fit person such as myself could still hike them! 😛
At a rock quarry... this was also a really awesome view, with the waves crashing against the giant rocks.
Enjoying the view and breathing in the sea breeze.
Dan walking through a tunnel. (I took this photo... looks kind of neat, doesn't it?)
The view at the end of the tunnel. Golden hills meat azure waters.
After doing a fair share of hiking, we drove back to Carmel and checked in at the Carmel River Inn. We chose to stay here because they have cute, individual little cottages. I love how cozy and private it is!
Our own private cottage #22
Sitting outside the cottage
The little meadow outside our cottage... it would have been perfect for some picnicking, had we more time!
The inside of the cottage was cute, too!Â
We freshened up at the cottage, and then headed back out to drive over to Monterey, where we had dinner at The Fish Hopper in Cannery Row. (Thank you Katie for the recommendation!) It was pretty busy, but we were able to get seated surprisingly quickly.
The food was impeccable! But instead of describing just how delicious it was, I’ll torture you all with drool-worthy photos of it…
Lobster bisque with creme fraiche... so rich and just amazing. Just what I'd been craving!Â
Stuffed jumbo prawn pasta... the crab stuffing was perfect.
Dan got a seafood platter with half a dungeness crab.
Bib on, ready to dig in.
Two of my favorite foods: seafood and pasta!
After dinner, we spent the rest of the evening walking around Cannery Row and leisurely exploring the stores.
"Candy!!!"
Trying on an Angry Birds hat
We came upon a froyo place called “myo,” which reminded us of our dear Mio My-oh that we had left with Dan’s parents. We were able to rest easy and have a great time because we knew she was in good hands, but she didn’t leave our minds for a moment during the trip!
Don't worry Mio, Mama hasn't forgotten about you!
That concludes Day One of our weekend trip. I’ll post Part Two soon, so stay tuned for more of our adventures! 😀
