We have decided to use our Spring Break time to visit new and different places. For years I have taken the kids to Newport Beach or San Diego. This year we decided to drive up highway 1. We started in San Luis Obispo and drove to San Francisco. We then headed East to Reno and drove through Lake Tahoe and then through Death Valley and back to Las Vegas.
The southern part of Big Sur had lots of Sea Lions and you start to get into the more rugged coast which I happen to be a big fan of.
The Sea Lions look like giant dead fish. They were basking in the sun and to me it seems that they have a pretty great life.
The rocky coasts are so interesting to me. I love how rugged and strong they are. No beach looks the same and there is always interesting sea life in the rocks.
Highway 1 did not disappoint. The road had been washed out in several places but lucky for us they had cleared all but one slide the morning we headed up on that highway. We were able to make it to Ragged point and then we had to turn back and go around.
The coastline is so beautiful and you are able to drive right along it.
We stopped for lunch and happened upon this black sand beach. I thought it would be fun to hike down to it but the kids objected.
Everywhere we looked there were beautiful wild flowers. There had been a lot of rain so everything was in bloom.
We traveled all the way with Cameron and Dave's golf clubs in a carrier on top of the car. Cameron complained about it the whole way because it was noisy. He didn't know his clubs were up there. His birthday was the first day of our trip and we surprised him with golf at a golf course in Monterrey on Monday morning. We were able to visit Pebble Beach. It is by far the most beautiful group of courses I have visited. It is incredibly expensive to golf there. Like you have to sacrifice your first born child. Once we got there Dave knew he had to take Cameron golfing there. He asked about it and they were all full for Monday but on Tuesday they were aerating the greens so the course was wide open and it was much cheaper. So Monday Cameron got to golf at a municipal course in Monterrey. This was a huge surprise to him and he was so excited. Then again on Tuesday morning Dave woke him up early and told him he was golfing Pebble Beach. He could hardly believe it. It was awesome. The day was pretty much perfect. The weather was great and Cameron golfed his best round ever. I don't know how we ever beat that birthday for him.
Cameron was in heaven just visiting Pebble Beach. Imagine his thrill at actually being able to golf it. I was proud of him for settling down enough to have a great round.
On Sunday we went to church and then drove down the north side of highway one to the point of the slide where we had to turn back on Saturday. It was beautiful as well.
Cameron loves bridges and tunnels. He already knew all about this cool bridge and he was super excited to get out and take pictures.
There were some very different and interesting lighthouses along the way. This made me very happy.
This is McWay falls at Pfeiffer stat beach. A waterfall that falls into the beach. You aren't allowed to hike down to it but of course there were some people who did. They got ticketed when they came back up.
We stopped to play in the freezing cold river. This was Lauryn's request .
We stopped at a really cool beach where the waves were enormous. The pictures don't do it justice. I couldn't believe that Cameron climbed out on this rock with us. He surprised us over and over with the things he was eager to do that normally would make him cautious.
I love my little girlies. They love the ocean and all the possibilities it has to offer.
Those waves. I could never get a great picture. Then another guy asked me to take a picture of him with his camera. I got a great shot but I could never really capture the enormity of these waves with my own camera.
love this one
I loved the flowers that blanketed the side of the road.
My people.
Sunset in Monterrey. We drove along 17 mile drive multiple times. It was so beautiful. I wanted to stop at every pullout. It was peaceful and you can feel the majesty of God. He is remarkable.
looking for treasures.
We went to the Monterrey aquarium. To us it was just OK. We had heard so many great things but we have the Shark Reef here in Vegas and it is pretty amazing. We did love seeing the penguins and the sea otters but then we walked out on to a deck and saw them out in the wild in the ocean. The momma kept getting crabs and she would put them on her belly so her baby could eat them. It was so fun to watch.
A lighthouse for me. I think the best decision we made was to extend our Monterrey stop by a day and cut our San Francisco stay by a day.
We loved Monterrey and would go back again. While the boys went golfing the girls and I rode horses on the beach
and got pedicures.
I am not sure who was more excited to golf Pebble Beach
This is just a remarkable shot of Cameron. Look at the colors.
The girls love Full House so our first stop in San Francisco was the sister houses where they film the opening credits. These little houses are charming whether you care about full house or not.
Chinatown.
Lombard street
We didn't get to visit Alcatraz because it was sold out. we knew by staying in Monterrey we may not have time for this but we would not trade Monterrey for Alcatraz any day.
The pier 39 where the sea lions are.
Fisherman's wharf. We got our clam chowder but the kids were not fans. Oh well...someday...
Ghiradelli. We went here for ice cream. It was packed but we waited anyway
The golden gate bridge. The first night we were here we drove across the bridge to Sausalito for dinner. We found a charming little Italian place. It was delicious and less hectic than San Francisco. I highly recommend doing this.
The kids loved hanging from the trolleys. They sang Newsies songs. Wrong city but whatever. It was fun anyway.
After we left the city we stopped at the Oakland temple. It is undergoing major remodeling so we couldn't get very close to it but it was beautiful anyway and the view from the temple is beautiful.
We spent the night in Reno so we could see Dave's projects up there. We drove through Lake Tahoe. There was a ton of fresh snow and it was breathtaking. Such a beautiful place.
We went to death valley. This place is so bizarre. This is the devils golf course.
By this point in the trip the kids were done. They were totally fried and sick of me and all of my requests and demands. This picture is perfect. It was blazing hot and they were complaining so I just kept making them walk further out in to the middle of death valley. I know...I am awesome. Truly these are my favorites. They are so much fun to travel with. They love trying new things and visiting new places. They know they have to pose twice for every picture and if they whine I will just keep taking more. I love them.
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