1 Year and Counting!

It's been a whole year - can you believe it?!? Neither can we...time flew by! We celebrated our first anniversary by taking a mini vacation to Half Moon Bay, Monterey and Carmel. We began our adventure by staying overnight in a charming little bed and breakfast - the Pacific Victorian Bed and Breakfast to be exact! This little hideaway is fit for a king or should we say The King. Our host, Jeff, was a talented Elvis impersonator after all!

Before settling in at the inn, we enjoyed a yummy meal at the Ono Grill, a Hawaiian restaurant we had discovered on a previous visit to Half Moon Bay. We completed our meal later that night with some yummy strawberry ice cream. This is actually significant because MeLissa hadn't been able to have one of her favorite foods (ice cream, that is!) since before the wedding due to dietary restrictions her doctor placed on her!

The next morning, after being serenaded by Elvis at breakfast, we headed down the coast to Monterey. We made a very relaxed journey and took several stops along the way...

First, we paused at this scenic spot (photo - right) to take advantage of a photo opportunity. Then, we stopped at some tide pools where we beheld some cute crabs and some pretty neat waves crashing into the rocks. Then it was on to Capitola where we stopped to wander around and where we enjoyed some yummy food at El Torro Bravo. Once we had our fill, we headed out for our next stop - Monterey!

We had a bit of a scare when we arrived in Monterey. There was a large gathering that resulted in most of the hotels having no vacancy. Luckily, we finally found a room at the Monterey Bay Inn that had a lovely view of Monterey's harbor. We checked in to our room and then went out to enjoy the town. We found some nifty thing and enjoyed dinner at Louie Linguine's. After dinner, we returned to our hotel for some R&R facilitated by a trip to the upper deck hot tub where we enjoyed each other's company and a view of Monterey at night.

Sunday was our first anniversary! We began our day with breakfast where Mark demonstrated his talent as a comic artist. We bought an Encyclopedia of Lighthouses to commemorate our first anniversary since we used lighthouses as our wedding reception theme. After acquiring this special item, we jumped in the car and headed for Carmel. We took some time to enjoy the beautiful beach there and even caught a glimpse at some squirrels who also were enjoying the beach. After strolling the beach, we stopped for lunch at a deli and then visited a unique art store called Sand Art Designs. The artists behind this business create dimorphic glass jewelry in addition to sand art pictures. Mark's anniversary gift to MeLissa was a heart pendant in lavender and magenta.

Once we were finished exploring the art store, we took a drive along the coast. This drive cemented our desire to return to Carmel for a longer visit when we have another opportunity. Once we had sufficiently explored the town in our car, we began the trek home.

We made a quick stop at the Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey to see what it had to offer. Once we were satisfied, we headed home via Highway One. On the way home, we caught a glimpse of a charming lighthouse that we plan to visit in the future. As always, when we arrived home, Pixie and Banshee were there to meet us! We gave them a little attention and then headed to bed so that we would be well rested for school and, in MeLissa's case, a first day at her new job.