California Trip Part 1

9:00 AM

Tanner and I celebrated our birthday BIG this year. We splurged and spent three days by the Central Coast of California. It was a much needed break for both of us. Once we landed in San Francisco we got our rental car (a Nissan versa) and looked for the first food place we could find (In n Out) because we were starving! Then we headed down towards Santa Cruz. It was dark by the time we made it to the Wharf and I was hoping the boardwalk amusement park would be lit up but it wasn't... bummer. We did walk along the wharf with the brisk night time air hitting our faces. We listened and looked at the sea lions that cuddled for warmth underneath. The smell of fresh lobster and the sound of crashing waves proved that we had made it... finally... to the ocean. We have been craving the beach since our honeymoon.

The next day we went to Capitola Village and walked along the beach.

My hunk of a husband was so sweet and did everything I wanted to do... including going through the little shops that Capitola had to offer.

After the beach, we headed towards the gorgeous Red Woods. Pictures just don't do justice for how beautiful and breath taking these trees are. It just proves what an amazing artist and creator Heavenly Father is.

The largest tree in diameter (in this specific park) is 16 feet!

It is so cool what you can tell from history through a tree. The rings of a tree can tell it's age, whether it there was a drought...etc.

When there is a forest fire, the trees hollow out in the middle leaving an outer shell like the tree below.

Later that day we drove south to our next hotel in Salinas. We drove past some gorgeous strawberry fields and country side. For dinner we headed to Cannery Row in Monterey. We splurged for one meal and ate at the Fish Hopper. We had the perfect table that looked out to the ocean.

Since we were already paying a pricey bill we decided to not hold back and ordered the lobster and filet mignon... YUM is an understatement. The restaurant is also famous for their clam chowder so we had to order a bowl. It is by far the best clam chowder I have ever had.

After dinner we drove around Monterey and enjoyed the sunset on the beach.

I love the picture below because it just shows the romance that was in the air.

Tanner and I played around with the camera settings and the picture below is the same night just a higher ISO. It is crazy that it can look like daytime.