"Which of my all important nothings should I tell you first?" ~ Jane Austen, in a letter to her sister

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Thursday, July 14, 2011

On Vacation, Part 3: The party's over already?

Last Thursday morning when we woke up we knew we had less than 48 hours left in California. At least me and the hubby did. Time to cram EVERYTHING IN that we hadn't done yet. Oh, wait, that's not possible? Okay, let's go to the coast instead.

We crammed the 6 of us into my stepdad's truck, plus all our junk for an overnight stay, plus snacks - because, helllloooo, ROAD TRIP - and we were off! Then we stopped at 15 places like the bank, the gas station, Rite Aid, etc., before we left town. But then we were off!! Woo-hoo. 

We made it about 45 minutes to Kettleman City. If you don't know, Kettleman is a town that survives for the sole purpose of being a major pit stop for people traveling down the I-5 corridor. Back in a previous lifetime I used to go on patrols in this town with a law enforcement type friend of mine so I got to know the area better than most people who pass through. There's very little to recommend it other than all the country roads, away from the light pollution, and the gorgeous starry skies. Oh, and the In-n-Out Burger. Yep, forget the starry skies - In-n-Out is probably the best thing about Kettleman. 

So, duh, we stopped there. Now I typically order straight off their simple menu - just a cheeseburger (no grilled onions or tomatoes), but In-n-Out has a not-so-secret-menu that they don't advertise. You just have to know what to order. For examples, you can say you want your burger animal style and they will add pickles, extra spread & grilled onions and Mustard fried into the patty. Or a 4x4 is 4 meat patties and 4 pieces of cheese - this is the largest burger they will serve. You can also order a Flying Dutchman - you can Google that one yourself. Or, if you are brave, just order it next time you swing through In-n-Out and find out what it is. But, hey, cool, right? Secret menus FTW. 

Okay, back on the road after our burger fill. Morro Bay or BUST! And my bladder nearly did. But we made it to our hotel/motel place. (Never stayed there before. It wanted to be good but it just didn't quite make it. Sad Panda.) But YAY. Morro Bay. 

Morro Bay. Ah. My heart belongs to Morro Bay. I love Cambria and Cayucos and now Avila Beach as well, but there's just something about Morro. It tugs at me. It's my spiritual home. I want to eventually live there. In my good, long retirement years. (Fingers-crossed).

We drove out to the rock first thing. What rock, you ask? Well, this one:

Confession: I didn't take this pic. I don't know who did, but I do know that I love Google Images. Amen.
Big, right? And awesome too. 

So we went out to the left side of the rock and hung out on a little beach there for a while. I snapped some Instragram pics (duh) while hubby and the boys climbed all over tarnation. (Spell check doesn't recognize "tarnation" as a word. Obviously spell check isn't Okie or Southern at all. It's a word, dang it). 

Boys. Hubby. Tarnation. 
I perched on a rock (not THE rock. a significantly smaller one) and snapped away. This was at the rock (yes, THE rock) looking back at the little coastal village that is Morro Bay:


And then I said, oh, look, there's a boat!! And let's use a different IG filter:


With a boat or without, with an IG filter or not, Morro Bay is gorgeous. It's quaint. It's touristy but not. You get the impression that the locals just go about their business and they don't mind the tourists too much at all. There's the embarcadero for that, but the little downtown area really shouldn't be missed; little book shops, antique stores, unique coffee places, and all with a coastal charm. Love, love, love. 

We stayed at the coast that night and until about 4 pm the next day before jumping back in the car to drive the 2 to 2 1/2 hours back to my hometown. Then the hubby and I packed and fretted about leaving our boys with their Grandma & Papa for "up to two weeks." We had made the decision long ago but that didn't make it any easier. In the end, we got up the next morning at 3:30 AM, kissed our sleeping boys, and drove to the airport. We were back home (via two planes and 3 airports) before they even woke up. 

It's been 5 days since then and they tell me they don't want to come home. They want to stay at Grandma & Papa's where they can swim every day and go kayaking at Shaver Lake and go to the Zoo and go to the movies and go to Adventure Park as well. Well, YEAH. Duh. So apparently Grandma & Papa will return them kicking and screaming at the end of next week. Something to look forward to.

Oh, yeah, one last thing. 11 years ago today this happened:

 
Don't we look ridiculously young? We were. We were leading with our hearts. Happy 11th wedding anniversary to my life partner. Mwah!

(And, yes, there was nothing in the champagne flutes. They were/are awesome, and engraved (thank you Auntie) but at the time the photographer wanted to snap the pic we didn't have an champagne or sparkling cider available. C'est la vie, I always say.)

Things I love in this blog post? At least 3: Morro Bay, vacation, and my guy. (In no particular order).

1 comment:

  1. Happy anniversary! Love you, little one. Looking forward to an awesome weekend with you.

    ReplyDelete