Memorial Day Weekend in Carmel/Monterey, CA

We took a very impromptu trip to Carmel/Monterey over the Memorial Day weekend. So spontaneous were we that we spent the greater part of Friday night calling hotels and B&Bs for reservations. Finally, we stumbled upon a small B&B in Monterey that didn't charge a month's mortgage. We left on Saturday at about the time Elise goes down for her afternoon nap to kill two birds with one stone. Arriving in Carmel a little after lunch, we trolled the main boulevard in search of a family friendly, but quaint (what in Carmel isn't?) restaurant and found a delightful Italian bistro with a friendly staff. After our meal, we were determined to take Elise to the beach, wind-be-damned, and boy was it windy! We felt like we were in a sandstorm some of the time which unfortunately meant no pictures b/c we didn't want to risk a grain of sand getting into the camera. Elise, fortunately, was bundled up and much more protected than we were. We can't say the same for the both of us because our face and hair were covered in sand. After some window-shopping we headed to Monterey and checked into our B&B. For dinner, we went to the Wharf and Elise got an allergic reaction to either some shellfish she ate or just too many strawberries. Either way, her lips got puffy and red blotches appeared on her face. We've been taking for granted that Elise had no food allergies since we introduced her to solids but we think the culprit might be strawberries. By the end of dinner, the blotches all but disappeared and mini-crisis over.

The next morning we left for the Monterey Bay Aquarium which neither of us had been to in decades. But that didn't stop us from fast-tracking our way through the countless species of fish, sharks, jellyfish, penguins, and stingrays. We might of broke a record with our time in the aquarium: 45 minutes for the whole she-bang. It was getting close to Elise's nap and we wanted to cram as much "learnings" as possible before she hit the twilight button. She probably won't remember any of it but we're hoping it's buried in her subconcious somewhere. In less than 24 hours since our arrival, we headed back home. Even though our trip was short, we did alot and had a fantastic time. It gave us a little more courage to plan bigger trips and longer getaways.