Greg and I have spent the last few days driving up the California coast. We had a really great time despite the unusually cold weather down in So Cal and the snowy weather upon our arrival back in Seattle. CWB has been closed down the past two days because of the snow and wind so Greg and I have holed up in our apartment packing boxes, wrapping xmas presents and staying warm.

Here are some pictures from our trip (don’t forget to click on the picture to access our entire web album):

On our way down to San Diego on Wednesday we stopped at this great Mexican place in La Jolla – delicious torta’s

A fruit stand on a fake scenic route just north of malibu. At least we got some fresh picked berries from Driscole’s fields.

And of course we ate at In-n-Out, although the junkie fast food never settles well

In San Simeon we visited William Randolf Hearst’s Estate

Hearst had lots of raucous party’s with famous guests such as Charlie Chaplin. He also had the largest private zoo on the estate; bears, lions, tigers oh my! There are still some animals left including zebra’s and some other grazers.

I got yelled at for leaning against the marble railing but Greg stuck his gum under it, so we got them good.

They still have a huge landscape crew and the gardens were beautiful

After the tour we headed 10 miles north on the Big Sur to find our hotel, the Ragged Point Inn. This is a shot at the base of Hearst’s property (currently 80,000 acres, used to be 120,000 acres!)

The lighthouse in the back ground. There were seals the size of a short bus laying in the sand but there wasn’t enough light to get a good picture. We could hear them barking away though, especially when Greg started wrestling with them.

7am at our hotel the next day. The Inn is really isolated on the top of a bluff with views up and down the pacific ocean.

About 30 miles north we stopped in the town of Big Sur at a delicious bakery.

There was a gallery and ’spirit garden’ adjacent to the bakery. It was very visually pleasing. A little bit kookie, I may have inhaled some voodoo fumes but it was fun to look around.

Looking South down the Big Sur

Our last bit of sunshine

Mt. Shasta in the background.  We had snow on the ground from Redding CA all the way to Seattle

This past weekend Greg’s family came into town and we all drove up to Whidbey Island and stayed at my dad’s vacation rental home. Both of Greg’s sisters are starting up at UW this fall, Megan is going into her junior year and Alex is starting as a freshman. The weekend was a great time to get out of the city and do like the locals do. We dug for clams, went for a really long hike, ate an obscene amount of red vines and enjoyed some yard games at the house. I came home longing for more vacation days, three pounds heavier and an onset of multiple cavities. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

note the tub of red vines

Alex basking in the sun

We were so lucky with the weather

Deception Pass

rocks + water + Jernstroms = hours of entertainment

All the kids

Greg’s lovely parents

The beginning of our hike at Ebey’s Landing

My mom led us down the forbidden stairway

the boys

More fun with rocks

Chris and Sonja

Greg made a friend

A friendly game of croquet

Yummy clams on the bbq