Pacific Costal Highway

Friday we decided to drive up the Pacific Costal Highway. This is a long twisty road that literally follows the coast up California. We hopped on at Cambria and went to see the sights. It was beautiful! The water was such a striking color! We stopped a few times on the way up to take pictures. We saw the elephant seals and the Piedras Blancas Light House.

We went up the coast and enjoyed the scenery.

Then we got to Big Sur! It was such a change from the stark landscape and beaches that we had been looking at. I got to see the redwoods! This is a first for me! These trees are amazing, and I’ve been told that I really haven’t seen the BIG ones…but these were pretty cool!

We stopped to take pictures at the river. There was a great little bridge, but it had a gate on it. Conveniently there was a hole in the gate, so I went through and took pictures…then a car came…oops!

We ate a late lunch at the river in. We were on a deck looking at the Big Sur River. We saw a couple of kids floating down the river, but the most interesting thing was that there were lots of people sitting in the river! They had chairs and benches several places in the river and you could let the water run over your feet and relax. I’m sure that it would be a very relaxing afternoon sitting there.

On the way home we stopped at several places to try to find a waterfall that is right on the coast. We finally found it, and it was gorgeous! I would love to find access to that beach on another trip.


Then we came home. On the way home we have to pass Hearst Castle. I have been there, or past by, several times on previous trips. Every time I am near I look for the zebras that are kept there. I have NEVER seen them. I began to think they might be a myth, but we actually saw them! There were five of them chilling out with some cows. Then we drove about a mile further and saw about 15 more! It was a great way to end our adventure!

On vacation...

Before Mike leaves for deployment, we wanted to take a trip to see his family. So I checked out of school early, and we left REALLY early on Tuesday to fly to california. We landed in LA at about 11am, found Mike’s Uncle Fred, got our rental car, and mad our way up to Atascadero. Aside from being very tired, we have enjoyed seeing everyone.
On Thursday I went to San Simeon (it’s where Hearst Castle is) and met up with my old roommate Emily. She was passing through on a road trip and we had breakfast together. It was sooooo nice to see her—we haven’t seen each other since my wedding!
Last night we went to a drive-in movie. I’ve only done this once, and it was in college. We saw a double feature—UP! and Night at the Musuem 2. We had a good time, and mostly stayed warm with the help of lots of blankets. Before the movie we went to the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market. This farmers market is quite impressive! It’s probably 5 blocks long, right down the main street in town.
We are having a good time and looking for more adventures.

Here are some pictures from San Simeon.

A view from the top...the mountains you cross to get to the coast.

The Beach in San Simeon

San Simeon Pier

Update!

The official word is that Mike is going to Al-Asad air base in Iraq. We still don’t know when (sometime in July) but we now know where :)

School is out for summer, and it couldn’t have come soon enough! This was a long year, and next year may prove to be dificult as well. So now I’m looking forward to a busy summer without teenagers in my world every day.

Great start...

A peaceful morning!

I planned a trip to the temple with my "Faith in God" girls and their moms. Although only one girl came, we had a very nice trip up to walk around the temple while talking about what goes on there. I didn't get to do any work there, but it was a beautiful way to start my weekend! I love that place!

New Toys...

Mike and I have gotten some new toys lately. He has had his eye on a big fat generator for quite some time now, and found a really good deal, so as an early b-day present he got a huge 8000 watt generator. Not to be out done, I also got a great birthday present. I go a new camera! I'm excited to learn how to use it and see what fun I can have with it!

Here it is...pretty cool huh?!?

Mike was helping me test it out.

Now I can say that I have a picture of me with my new camera...but I plan on staying on the "picture taking" side :)

So I don't have any pictures of Mike's generator...it's not nearly as exciting as my present--but if you want to see the generator, just ask him, I'm sure he'll show it to you!

Strawberry Pickin'

Tammy, Ken, Idabella and I went berry picking on Monday. We had a great day with perfect weather! I left school early and we headed down to the farm. Isabella had a great time and ate more than I thought her little tummy would hold! I picked a little over 11 pounds and tammy and Ken picked over 22 pounds of berries! They were soooooo good! I could have stayed all day just to eat them.

We started out on a hayride, and then got to pickin' (or eating if your name is Isabella). We were out picking for about 3 hours and enjoyed every minute of it! We took the hayride back to the market store and got a few extra goodies and paid for our berries and came home to get back to work with them :) When I got home with my load, Mike ate a bunch, and then I washed and froze the rest. Now we can enjoy them a bit longer.

I checked today and it's a good thing that we went when we did, the berry season is now over! We got in at the last minute! We had a great time and plan on going again next year.

On the ride out to the fields.

Linda picking, Isabella "helping"

On the ride back Isabella needed a hand to hold at first...she got the hang of it soon and enjoyed herself!

The fruits of my labor.

The Bliss of Not Knowing

So Mike has been back for a week, and the amount of information I have now is no more than what I had when he left for training. We still don’t know where he is going, and we don’t have a date yet either. “Stand By,” is still the motto of the day.

I have decided that this is a blessing in disguise. If I don’t know where he is going, I can’t get worked up about things that happen when I hear them on the news. I figure that I’ll just stay in the bliss of ignorance for now and that way I can have a good time with Mike before he leaves.

This weekend has been nice…three days and a list of things to do for Mike to work on. I have my list too, don’t worry. It was just nice to be around each other for an extra day this weekend! Happy Memorial Day!