Spring Break

Last January Trace and I attended a school fundraiser, and we had the winning bid on a VRBO at Pebble Beach.  It happened to be available during our spring break, so off we went for the week.  We had three generations along, and it was a perfect spot for all six of us.

I know that this blog is often mostly pictures, but for the last week I couldn’t help myself.  I think vacations, as in much of life, are all about the memories.  Photographs are a good way for me to capture those memories, so I took a lot of photos in the last ten days.  So here is our spring break in pictures:

We arrived the first night as the sun set over the Pacific, silhouetting the Cypress trees. What a way to start!

Trace and I started every morning peacefully with a walk on the beach.

Our first day, we checked out Pebble Beach, complete with a lunch at the Lodge, overlooking the 18th green. What a view!

A kind attendant offered to take our picture on the first tee. While only Trace appreciated the course, we all posed for the picture!

While Jack and Trace played the nine hole, par 3 Peter Hay course, Chuck, Caroline, Caroline and I walked the beach at Carmel. We could not have had a more spectacular day. Aren’t these two cute?

My little girl posing for the camera. She entertained herself for an hour building fairy houses in the sand.

Calla lilies are one of my favorite flowers, and everywhere we went along the coast they were blooming!

On Wednesday I took the kids to the beach while Trace played golf at Pebble Beach with Phil, John, and Ted.

They were so happy looking for detritus together.

Even the rocks are fun at the beach.

On Thursday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Since Caroline got stung by a jellyfish in Hawaii, she wouldn’t even get close enough to the tank for a silhouette picture. Jack thought they were great!

The two green sea turtles were a highlight of our visit: Jack had done a report on them earlier this year, and it was so cool to see them in person!

We took the requisite picture of the lone cypress on 17 Mile Drive.

The seals and sea otters that we saw were fascinating to all of us.

Several evenings we had a fire in the fire pit in front of the house we were renting. Perfect accommodations!

My balancing boy standing on the fence rail. He did stand all the way straight, but this picture is cuter:)

What’s a vacation without a stop for ice cream?

We drove up the coast on the way home and stopped by Grace Cathedral to walk the labyrinths, which we all love. They had these amazing ribbons hanging from the ceiling for Easter, lit up. It was spectacular, and joyous.

We finished our trip by crossing the Golden Gate and driving home via Sonoma. We stopped for dinner at the Fremont Diner (barbeque night, yum!) where we took these great pictures!