When a big conference placed Mattias across the country over a long holiday weekend, I opted to take the circus on the road. Single parenting is a good excuse to go on vacation, and being outside and exploring is the only way to keep me sane. I chose to drive down to Monterey because we have a membership to the aquarium that expires soon, and because it's a beautiful, low-key place to explore. At 7AM we were out the door, including the dog, equipped with coffee for me, car breakfasts for the kids, and a long list of podcasts.
We head straight inside the aquarium to take advantage of members hour, we had the whole place to ourselves.
This tide pool bubble is one of the boys' favorite places to relax and snack.
Having a membership meant there was never any rush to see the exhibits during our visits. On this visit, we took the time to watch some feedings and listen to a lecture about deep sea research. With more time and fewer people to compete with, the kids took their time with the interactive installations.
Since the boys were so well behaved I decided to treat them to a fancy lunch at the aquarium restaurant, which comes with table service, the bay view, and a set of binoculars for wildlife viewing. I thought I might regret it, but instead I was surprised by their good manners and appreciation for the simple pleasure of sitting in a restaurant.
Theo waited patiently for us in the car while we were at the aquarium, and he was rewarded with a hamburger and a trip to Asilomar State Beach. As soon as we arrived I told the boys to dig a hole, and three hours flew by in a snap.
By late afternoon we were all tired, having left San Francisco early, so we made our way to our dog-friendly hotel in Pacific Grove. Theo approved of the bed and the towel swan. The room had a separate bedroom for the kids and a private patio. After unpacking we all went straight into the hot tub.
The rest of the night was dedicated to a dinner of delivery pizza (a serious novelty for these city boys) and junk food and a movie in bed.
At the end of the night I had all 4 boys in one bed.
In the morning we strolled to a nearby eucalyptus grove to see the Monarch butterflies overwinter. In years past our attempts to see large clusters were met with disappointment of low numbers, but not this year. Well camouflaged and still warming up, we had to look hard up into the eucalyptus to recognize those brown clusters as Monarchs.
Before hitting the road back to San Francisco I let them run loose around the biggest playground in Monterey. Then we hit a nearby farm stand for locally grown strawberries and garlic.
Throughout the trip, each of said "It's too bad pappa's not here with us." These kids, as energetic and crazy as they can be, sure know how to travel and enjoy the road. Not just because they're my children, I honestly would choose them as my travel buddies. Tired and full, we drove back together and listened to back-to-back episodes of their new favorite podcast "The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian." When your kids are people you actually enjoy, flying solo isn't bad at all.
