Be prepared for a gazillions pictures!
Earlier this week Kevin came home and told me that he needed to do a scuba dive on Saturday in Monterey at 8am to finish his certification. He's been taking scuba lessons with Jessie for a few weeks now (to prep for our Hawaii trip). They had an awesome idea for us to spend the weekend down in Monterey. After considering the options (1. stay at home by myself with the crazies or 2. hang out in Monterey with the crazies), I opted for taking an actual vacation (since camping didn't count last weekend)... mostly from my messy house and loads of laundry. I hauled the kiddos down to Monterey on Friday afternoon in rush hour traffic. Not the best part of the trip, but definitely entertaining.
We met Jessie & Kevin (who had done a Fri afternoon scuba dive) at Ghirardelli on Cannery Row for dessert. The kids tried to climb into the ocean and give me a heart attack (who thought horizontal bars were a smart thing?).
I enjoyed this deliciousness
Later that night we descended on the Embassy Suites in Monterey and all got cozy together. Andrew & Jessie got to have a sleepover!
Saturday morning Jessie & Kevin woke up early to dive while the kiddos and I slept in, enjoyed an amazingly delicious breakfast at the hotel, swam in the pool, rode the elevator, and watched cartoons.
After the hotel fun (all of which happened before 10am), we headed to Dennis the Menace Park. Our last trip wasn't so awesome (
Andrew fractured his leg), so I was determined to make this one better. The kids had a blast.
Then we met up with Scott & Tito (who trekked down to hang out) and played at the beach for a bit!
Kevin and Jessie finished up their dive and joined up with us.
Then we hung out with the hotel fishies and got packed up and went to lunch at a Smith family favorite... Johnny Rockets on Cannery Row! (Yum, yum!)
We called it our Hawaii pre-party... so excited to reconvene the fun with the rest of the Smith clan in Maui soon!
We ended the day with a trip to Point Lobos to explore the tidepools. The kids loved climbing and Catie LOVED collecting rocks and getting swung by Kevin.
It was seriously an incredible day- full of fun with an added bonus of amazing weather. I think we'll be heading back to Monterey several more times for weekend trips this summer.
(Catie with her rocks)
We ended the day our traditional Point Lobos way, with someone getting hurt. :) Andrew did some crazy jumping and narrowly missed jumping down a ravine. His shoe wasn't as lucky and took a plunge. Jessie rescued it and then while he was shoeless, he tore open his toe a bit.
We ended the trip with two screaming crazies (one way overtired from no nap and one with a sore foot)... and despite the screams... we still had an awesome time!
Now if someone would just miraculously do all the laundry and clean my house, my vacation from our vacation would be considered a smashing success :)
