Wednesday, May 20 was the last day of our vacation within a vacation, and we packed up at the beach house in the morning and spent the earlier part of the day at nearby Moss Landing before starting the drive back to the East Bay.
Mirei eating grapes at the beach house while everyone packed and cleaned.
Phil’s Fish Market & Eatery at Moss Landing
Pretty cool place!
We had lunch there and the food was pretty good!
Mirei was imitating the sea lions she saw earlier in the morning by barking like them:
Mirei is loving the attention from Ted & Jackie
Getting lifted in the air by Jackie & Ted
One last family photo in front of Phil’s Fish Market on the last day of our getaway!
We’re so glad that we could spend this time with Dan’s side of the family, seeing the beauty of the Monterey Bay and Big Sur and enjoying each other’s company. They will be memories we’ll cherish for years to come!
Tuesday, May 19th was the highlight of our family getaway with Dan’s family, as we explored our main destination of the trip — Big Sur! We got to go to Point Lobos, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and Pfeiffer Beach. Dan and I had gone to Big Sur three years ago and we fell in love with the gorgeous sights there, especially the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We have been talking about coming back to see Big Sur for a while now, so we were thrilled to be able to return, and to get to show our girls the sights there, too.
Our first stop in the morning was Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos. It was pretty cloudy and overcast in the morning (typical of Northern California), which only intensified the unsettling aura of the cove.
Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos… where fishermen used to bring in whales they hunted at the turn of the century.
The place looked a bit of ominous… maybe it reminded me too much of a show we watched recently, The Killing
Sea lions beaching at the foot of the cliffs.
A small cabin built by Chinese fishermen from that era still remains and is now a cultural history museum.
With the whale bones by Whaler’s Cabin
Huge whale bones
I liked the inscription on this bench: “Tell them how special they are.”
We then took a walk around the cliffs of Point Lobos, and took in some of the prettier sights there. It was my first time at Point Lobos, but I observed that it has a very rugged beauty to it.
Point Lobos
The Allens at Point Lobos
With the grandparents Point Lobos
Look at the color of that water!
Enjoying a picnic lunch at Point Lobos
After eating lunch, we drove over to my favorite part of Big Sur — Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park! It was a bit of a drive from Point Lobos, but it gave the weather time to clear up, and by the time we arrived, the sun was completely out, making for a gorgeous day to see one of California’s most scenic locations.
Auntie Hyo holding Mirei as we make our way to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
The Allens at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Our family at Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Happy we could come back here after three years!
Gorgeous view of the waterfall… this is my favorite view in California.
The girls taking a break on the bench
Beautiful Pacific waters crashing onto the shore…
With our little Mirei, almost 16 months old at the time.
Our last stop in Big Sur was Pfeiffer Beach, which looks like a beautiful beach set straight from a movie, with light shining through the Keyhole Arch rock formations and almost purple-looking sand.
Stunning Pfeiffer Beach
Mio walking with Auntie Jackie at Pfeiffer Beach
Mirei with Uncle Ted
The girls got to play in the sand with the beach toys that Grandma thoughtfully brought along for them.
Big Sur is so gorgeous! It was wonderful to be able to come back here with the whole Allen family, including our sweet girls.
After spending much of the first day of our mini trip in Santa Cruz, we headed down to Pajaro Dunes, where we would be staying at a beach house for the next couple days. It was a beautiful and spacious beach house right by the shore, and we had a great time relaxing there, enjoying the view, and easily taking walks on the beach as it was only footsteps away.
Jellyfish on the beach at Watsonville
Our beach house at Pajaro Dunes
Mio and Mirei unwinding at the house
Mio and Grandpa
Mio drawing
Mirei coming close!
View from the beach house window
Exploring the loft at the beach house
Our little climber loved it!
Mio and Mirei with their gift of handmade zabuton from Grandma – so impressed that she sewed them herself!
Taking a morning walk on the beach the next morning…
Continuing from Day One of our weekend trip down to Big Sur and Carmel, here is Day Two! Sunday was a lot more relaxed, and we slept in at our cottage in the morning, had breakfast, and then spent a few hours at Carmel Beach before taking the scenic road home.
Here I am, excited that there are so few people on the beach!
Setting myself down at Carmel Beach
Surfers walking by
This is the life.
The Old Dan and the Sea
The Pacific waters were (as usual) cold!
Soaking up the sun!
A video Dan took of me on the beach… (I thought he was taking a photo of me at first — hence the posing.)
On our way back up the 101, we stopped by Castroville to pick up some fresh produce for Dan’s parents for watching Mio.
Castroville is known for their artichokes!
Artichoke stand in Castroville
All locally grown fresh produce
Castroville Artichoke Festival poster from 1999
We continued to make a few stops here and there as we drove up the coast, to admire the views of the ocean.
Initials in the sand.
Roadside cliffs
A lighthouse we passed...
We passed through Half Moon Bay on our way home, and grabbed a bite to eat there as a late lunch/early dinner. We wanted some cheap but good Mexican food, and found just the place: Happy Taco!
The taco sure looks happy!
Dan sipping his horchata.
Tacos!
Wet burrito with shrimp for me!
Hungry and ready to eat!
We arrived in San Lorenzo in the evening to pick up Mio, and she seemed to have had fun during her weekend at the grandparents’. But when we came through the door, she looked up and immediately reached her arms out to be held by me — she missed me! And of course, we missed her too. It’s back work for Dan this week, and I’m trying to adjust to being a freelancing WAHM (work-at-home-mom). It’s not going to be easy to balance work and family within the home and keep it separate, but I’m excited about new opportunities and more time spent with Mio.
This past weekend was really rejuvenating and enjoyable — I don’t think we’d had that much fun in a while! I think besides both Dan and I just really needing a vacation in general, we also really needed that time for just the two of us. Of course we love Mio and cherish the time we spend with her, but I think that any parent of a young child needs a break from time to time. Between working exhausting hours at work (Dan has been pulling late nights at work until 11pm and on weekends the last couple of weeks due to a deliverable), and coming home to immediately switch gears to be Mommy and Daddy — it feels like working a double shift! It’s really important to every healthy relationship to take some time away from the baby to go on a date night or take a little trip to just be a couple again, because it’s hard to find the time and energy to really appreciate each other when you’re running around so focused on taking care of your child. We really appreciated how easy things were again — we could make frequent quick stops while driving, and hop back in the car… you just can’t do that when you have a child with you, since you have to unbuckle your child from a carseat, take out the stroller, make sure you have enough snacks, the whole drill. There’s also so much stuff you have to bring along when you travel with a baby, so it was nice to just be able to pack a duffel bag between the two of us and travel lightly! We’re really grateful for Dan’s parents for taking care of Mio so that we could enjoy our mini road trip together, and of course I am very thankful for Dan who helped make it happen, and whom I got to share such great experiences with! I continue to look forward to what other adventures await in our family’s journey.
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! 😀
