This is the life. We spent the afternoon sitting on the patio of a cafe that opened right onto the beach. As I sat listening to the sound of the crashing waves while sipping my cappucino and sampling a delicious sticky bun (which we got for $1 because the store was closing!), I thought, "Life doesn't get better than this." Although, as a sort of a reality check, while I was admiring the ocean, Ashlee was paging through our Lonely Planet: Mongolia guidebook and giving me updates -- it's quite clear that adjusting to the Mongolian lifestyle will be difficult. However, for the moment, things are perfect.
Ashlee and I have been reflecting that this "California Trip" has been one of the best trips we have ever taken. I have found it to be a very refreshing experience. Until this point, most of the traveling I have done has been in Europe (I know, I'm a travel snob) so I have come to associate trips with expensive airfare, tight schedules, luggage restrictions, language barriers, and overall cultural faux pas. Although these generally generate the best travel stories, it has been a delight to vacation in our own backyard.
Moreover, taking a roadtrip has also had its numerous advantages. It has been awesome having Hamish at our beck and call. Not only has it allowed us to perfectly tailor our itinerary to our personal preferences and travel style, but it has also enabled us to be very flexible in our travels. We can stay longer at places we enjoy and scoot out early when we wish to leave. We can also take the advice of locals and visit places that are out of the way -- such as our experience at the Domain Chandon winery in Nappa.
All in all, the trip has been amazing so far and we can't wait to visit the rest of our destinations.
Here's a line-up of what we have coming up:
- Monterey
- Big Sur
- Cambria
- Hearst Castle
- Solvang
- Santa Barbara
and
- Les Miserables in Santa Maria
Woo hoo!
PS - After walking along the beach this evening, we decided that we were still too full from lunch to go out to dinner. Then on the quick drive back to the hotel, we stopped at Taco Bell (ack!). Ashlee got her favorite crunchwrap supreme (or cheesey deliciousness as she calls it) and I went for a grilled stuft burrito. Kind on the budget but hard on the bellies.
1 comment:
Scottie, Mom and I just got back from the river and I caught up on your blogs, I think you guys are doing it right and having the time of your life. I feel that you can go to the dentist and write about how great it is, you sure do have a gift of writing, and I think you should live somewhere that will feed your ability to write and that is your calling, just my thoughts--take care you both--love you DAD
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