West (Best) Coast

Now that we're settled into our new/old home, workplaces, and routines, we (i.e. Ellie) have gotten back our wanderlust.  Even though the SF Bay Area has been home since the early 90s, it's pretty amazing that there are still pockets that we haven't explored.  And because the kids have been in Arlington for the past 5 years, the familiar has become novel again.  Take for example the wetlands just outside of Milpitas, where we grew up.  The Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge surrounds the south and east bay, and is a unique and flourishing wetland habitat.  We stopped by one Sunday morning for a stroll.  I swear my family must have a collection of pictures of me pointing which direction we should go...

There was a lot of birds, mostly gulls, as well as salty marsh air and gorgeous views of our nearby hills.  It's pretty cool that this exists in the heart of the Silicon Valley, just minutes from the new 49ers stadium-- a place where you can imagine what it was like before we even knew what silicon was.

The boys loved running free on the trails, and pretended to be archaeologists digging for bones in the dirt.

Back East one of our big complaints was the lack of access to coastal areas.  All the beach or bay front properties were privately owned, severely limiting our access to really commercialized waterfront developments or dirty beaches several hours away.  I'm so grateful that we can drive 5 or 10 minutes to gorgeous, well preserved natural spaces.

I planned a trip to Monterey back in February, while I was in the thick of caring for a newborn and preparing for our big move.  I wanted something to look forward to, to treat myself for accomplishing such a Herculean task, and to have a belated birthday celebration.  It also happened to be the weekend following Linus' first week of school-- he thought the trip was to celebrate his starting school.  We whisked him away at the stroke of 1:50 and drove straight down to the Monterey Bay.

After checking into our fabulous family-friendly hotel suite , we headed straight to the pier where my dad and I used to go fishing.  It was getting late so we chose a convenient, classy, and tasty restaurant called McDonalds.  The kids like to call it the "Farmer's Market".  

Then we crossed the street to El Estero Park, where the Dennis the Menace Playground is the huge attraction.  We had driven 3 hours, so the boys needed to let off some steam.

We were on vacation so it was totally OK to let the kids watch Saturday morning cartoons.  We haven't watched network TV for months, so were were a bit shocked by all the commercials for crappy toys and sugary cereals.  We waited for my parents to arrive so that we could head into Cannery Row.

The hotel was a very easy walk to the Monterey State Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, and Cannery Row.  On the way there we heard lots of sea lions and saw tons of harbor seals lounging on rocks.

I LOVE the Monterey Bay Aquarium and went there several times before I had kids myself.  You can only imagine how psyched I was to share this joy with my boys.  Family travel tip: Most hotels in Monterey will sell special 2-day tickets that allow you to skip the lines.  The best part was that we weren't pressured to see it all in one day.

The otters weren't in the exhibit due to cleaning, but the kids were equally excited about the divers cleaning the glass.  The children's area is so well designed, with open space and play structures to explore, and special "shorty" touch pools.

The aquarium also has an extensive outdoor deck that allows you to view the  kelp beds common to the California coast.  Amongst the wildlife: kayakers, pelicans, sea otters, and seals.

One of the highlights of the day was skipping the cafeteria and heading to the fancy sit down restaurant within the aquarium.  Mattias and my fancy dining days are near over, so this is the best we can manage nowadays.  Excellent seafood, ocean views complete with binoculars for the kids, AND a full wine list.  Happy Birthday to ME!

Later in the afternoon we crossed the street to hit the beach.  It was a warm, fog free, and relatively windless day, perfect for beach combing 

Mattias enjoyed a long walk with Anders in the carrier, while me and my parents played with the big boys.  We caught several Pacific Mole crabs, so Linus made a little aquarium for them to live in.  Magnus (you guessed it) played with sand the whole time.

On our last day we were greeted by more fantastic weather and headed straight for the aquarium.  Because I am a hater of crowds I loved getting into the jellyfish, deep sea, and puffin exhibits before everyone else.  Here are some of Mattias' best photos:

Overall this trip was a great success. No tantrums, everyone slept  (relatively) well, and minimal traffic.  I got to visit a place that I love, and share a new experience with my babies.  I'm sure my East Coast friends are tired of hearing about "Cali this, and Cali that" but seriously, we are so glad to be back on the Best Coast.