Our Weekend in Monterey

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We've been home for a little over a week and, though I'm glad to be with the girls again, WOW I WANT TO GO BACK. 

I'm so excited to share a few photos with you all that didn't end up on Instagram. As always, I should have taken way more pictures, but I'm thankful I took the ones I did. I'm definitely planning on getting some printed and framed (even though that's probably one of my worst qualities- following through with hanging photos). 

A little background of the trip before I flood you with photos- last Christmas, my mom and dad bought AJ and I tickets to Family Life's A Weekend to Remember , a weekend long marriage retreat. And though there were retreats closer to home, we really wanted to save up and make it a big trip. 

We never had a honeymoon, or really any big trip together, after Evie was born, so we REALLY needed the alone time. We picked the date and saved for the rest of the year to make it happen. And oh man, we had so much fun. 

I can't tell you how many times we looked at each other and said "babe, it feels like we're dating again". Being able to leave our responsibilities behind and just focus on each other and adventure together was SO great and SO needed. 

Our two hour flight from Denver was smooth. We flew in to San Francisco (which we desperately wanted to explore. Next time for sure.) so we had to take a shuttle two hours south to Monterey. Once we got to our hotel we were pretty exhausted and content just to explore the grounds and relax before the conference started that night. 

Our first hotel, the Hyatt Regency where the conference was, was insane. It was a 24 acre resort with a golf course and spa, with live jazz at night and a gorgeous hot tub and pool (but don't remind AJ, because, of course, we forgot our swim suits). 

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The next day, we woke up bright and early. #parentlife 

We had a few classes at the conference and then spent some time exploring. Since we didn't have a car, we walked a lot. It was about a mile into town from our hotel and then another mile to the downtown and Cannery Row. That said, after the first day, we paid to take the bus or Uber in as far as we could ;) 

We walked to the Fisherman's Wharf which is, obviously, full of boats and whale watchers and seafood restaurants.  The row of buildings along the wharf were all so colorful and fun. 

Aj was excited to eat some actual seafood (I'm not the biggest fan, except in sushi) so we ate lunch on the wharf.

The weather was gorgeous that day and we walked all the way down to Cannery Row (where we were staying the next few nights) to explore some more. Normally, I don't love doing "tourist-y" things. I love seeing places for what they really are- not just the main attractions, but since we didn't have a car, or anyone that we knew to show us the sights, we just explored the areas close by. 

We stayed two nights at the Hyatt, and when we looked at our schedule, we realized that someone (me.) had forgotten to book a hotel for Sunday night. I'm not sure how I managed that...I went over everything 1093 times. So we frantically booked a hotel on Travelocity for our third night and- yep, it was gorgeous too. The Monterey Hotel is one of the oldest hotels on the west coast- built in 1904, and if you know anything about me, you know I'm kind of an antique nerd, so I was in heaven. 

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Everything was so ornate and detailed- though not very sound proof. But the beautiful view made up for it. 

Monday was Aj's birthday and, though it was supposed to rain, it ended up being a gorgeous day. We  walked around the historic downtown, went to a few breweries and a few coffee shops (to cater to both of our "snobberies") had some DELICIOUS sushi for dinner and fro-yo for dessert. 

The final night, we stayed right on Cannery Row at the Spindrift Inn and it, yet again, was phenomenal. We had wine and cheese in the lobby- yeah, I felt fancy too- and then went out for sushi and drinks. Again. 

Of course, with such a smooth trip, there was bound to be a bump in the road at some point. We nearly missed our flight home and would have had to stay in San Francisco an extra night- Mara would have ran out of milk (that I had been pumping and freezing for MONTHS) and the girls would have had to go home with my mom who had to work the next morning. Thankfully, due to a delayed flight and sprints through the airport, we made it home on time to our sweet girls!

We had such a beautiful time and I can't wait until the next time we can sneak away for a few days.

If you've made it to the end, congratulations! That was a long one....