Tag Archives: travel

Hump Day

Hump Day is the term we typically use with a bit of excitement in our voice.  Its the home stretch, it’s rounding third.  We can see the weekend and we begin to make plans.  Unless you are on vacation.  Then Hump Day is the day you realize you are headed back to reality sooner rather than later.

We have reached Hump Day.

We decided to keep things low-key and piddle around Monterey.  Opting for travel by foot rather than car was a good choice and kept us fairly close to the hotel.  A few cups of crappy hotel coffee started the day and we decided to just throw on some layers and strike out for a morning adventure.  I think we got our first taste of “regular” weather.  A little cool, grey and foggy.  It doesn’t make for a great hair day, but it was nice.  Different.  A quick stop in a cafe for more daily fuel and we were headed to Lover’s Point.  The City of Monterey has a great pedestrian and bike path that hugs the coast for miles.  It is a great way to see the city without too much navigational effort.  Every turn offered a different view of this beautiful coast line. It’s so odd to see the otters and seals napping in what must be the coldest water in the world.  Of course, now that I have seen the warning signs for Great White Sharks, I will only be imagining the temperature of the water. We were enjoying the stroll so much, we just kept going.  The paved bike path turned into gravel but stayed right on the water’s edge through a beautiful neighborhood in Pacific Grove.

After a quick clean up, we wanted to take in a super touristy lunch and do some people watching.  Off to the Wharf.  You know the Wharf, the Strip, the Pier… every coastal town has one.  A few t-shirt shops, a fudge shop and seafood restaurants that serve triangle shape fish.  The grey morning had given way to a sunny warm day.  A big fish sandwich, a few cold beers and lots of people watching while we soaked up the afternoon sun.  Note from the author – If ever you see Me and Mr. P having lunch and drinking a beer in the sun, and you walk by in a ridiculous outfit or with a ridiculous dog in a ridiculous outfit, we are certain to talk about you.  More otters and seals and even some little tikes at surf school (guess their parents don’t read signs) joined us along the beach at the Wharf as we took in our fill of the touristy scene.

It was time for some digital therapy so we found a cigar shop with WiFi.  Mr. P worked on his blog post while I posted some pictures on social media.  Let me take a brief moment to describe my relationship with social media.  One a scale of 1-10, I would rate myself about a 4.  I have the accounts and I scroll through them most days.  Post pictures of my kids, my dog and of course Mr. P.  And maybe watch a cat video.  That’s about it.  Now, let me take another moment and tell you what I hate about social media.  The Perfect People.  Posting everything about their perfect life.  Food, children, husbands, decorations, crafts, and even gym pics.  And then there is the daily affirmation, my favorite.  This is where they assume we must feel crappy about our lives compared to theirs and they feel obligated to share some hope for us.  I say all of this because for this one week I have become one of the Perfect People.  I have posted more pictures, said things like great and beautiful so many times its nauseating, but I can’t help it.  I have a one week pass to Perfect People land and I am going to use it.

Back to Hump Day.   The day was coming to an early end at a great local sushi bar called Crystal Fish.  Nothing fancy just a little bite and some wine.  We need to rest and focus.  It all begins tomorrow.  The journey to Shangri-La.  The Holy Land for my Mr. P.

Napa and Point Reyes

The adventure begins early on Saturday with a drive to ATL – nothing initiates (nor signals the end of) a wonderful journey more than warm southern genteel hospitality of Hartsfield International’s award winning customer service. The drive over and parking go smoothly and soon we are at our gate with time to spare. We gamble on an aeronautical cocktail that Shannon has devised for me to help ease the flight. After a brief flight to Charlotte and a couple hour layover, the long haul begins with a five-hour flight to SFO. The medical concoction is a success and we touchdown in Frisco, our luggage comes tumbling down the shoot early and off we go in search of the car rental place. After two escalator rides, an elevator trip with Wang et al, and the blue line shuttle tram, we finally meet Austin who directs us to our Toyota chariot. With siri barking coordinates and Shannon adeptly navigating, we zip along over the Bay Bridge thru the city. Hungry and thirsty and clueless as to what the local time is, we choose a six-pack of bud light and taco bell drive thru to quench our nutritional desires. Day 1 comes to a close at the Fairfield Marriott.

We are awakened by the light emerging thru our curtains as Shannon gently eases them open to determine the luminous source. Joyously, we are met by a gloriously radiating full moon that seems only just outside our touch! A crappy cup of hotel room coffee and a plan is devised to hit the Starbucks for proper fueling and then a brisk walk thru a nearby park that is simply wonderful.   This begins to provide vistas that will soon become our destination. Napa is today’s. With coordinates entered, off we go. My expectations are undetermined but it’s a requirement to attend! We’ll visit the downtown area for lunch and shopping before our winery tour – only problem is there wasn’t the downtown as you would expect but we found a cute little market and kick off the epicenter of American Wine with a cool draft beer! With the recommendation from a friend we head up the mountain to go spelunking for grapes. The weather is perfect – I mentioned to Shannon that if it’s this nice on the first tee at Pebble of Friday, I will probably weep! We are gated in to our winery and walk up to the cave entrance – a cave entrance! The Jarvis Winery was a real treat with Tom taking us thru the cavern. With uncertainty as what to expect, I’d have to say Napa was not what I expected,

Starbucks again fuels our plans as we prepare for Point Reyes and day two. Off we go. As we head towards the lighthouse, the anticipation grows and we round each curve and crest each hill to the joyous site of the Pacific. Cows guide us along the way, as the terrain becomes treeless fields of rolling green. Finally, peeks of our excitement begin to emerge and soon, our peripheral is engulfed with blue as far as our ocular lenses reveal. Our perfect timing continues as the parking angel provides us with the last spot in a tiny lot for the lighthouse followed by the sign that says the lighthouse is closed Tuesday thru Thursday!. Our digitally chromatic instruments and compositional efforts will not convey this experience.  Holy cow – beautiful cliffs with crashing surf surrounded by the far reaches of sight. The lighthouse fog alert calls out twice each minute with a gentle moan that this day beckons a few whales instead of heeding  warnings to wayward sailors. We check in with Kai at Ten Inverness Way B&B and grab a few beers at the market to enjoy a refreshment at the local landmark – a beached trawler!