Monterey photo Essay

Okay, so maybe this isn't just a photo essay, there will be some text, but mostly pictures...okay A LOT of pictures. A little over 50 pictures. You're in for a long post. But I just couldn't help it. It was such a glorious weekend in Monterey and I wanted to document every moment. The weather was beautiful, the company was great and its Monterey...which says a lot in itself. Oh and Chad's sister Jill and her family just happened to be coming to California for a couple weeks and so they were able to come with us to Monterey...they live in Utah...so everyone was pretty happy about that.

So here is our weekend in Monterey with the Bringhursts.

On the way...

Got a flat tire on the way there...that was fun. And it was the car chad and I were driving too. Here's all the guys changing the flat. How many guys does it take to change a tire? You can count.

On the bright side: a nice AT&T technician stopped and gave us a spotlight from his truck and put cones out by our car so that the guys wouldn't get hit by the cars speeding by us less than 10 feet away. That was a huge help. Thanks AT&T man! Hope you like the cookies we gave you for stopping.

"We are so happy to be on the side of the road with a flat tire." Don't you think Jake's face says that? Or maybe it's saying, "I'm a model." The latter I think.

Yeah, definitely flat.







Archie's Diner: First seafood of the trip


Chad likes to color...he's a child at heart. Oh and FYI: that is some really good Calamari in that picture! That's why we go to Monterey...

Bread bowl...also good. Needed pepper though.

The whole fam. Yeah we take up a few tables. Okay, maybe five.

Tide Pools: Day One

Tide pools are a must when you go to Monterey. We go to the same ones every time and they never get old. There is always something new to discover and someone usually always falls in the water so that is entertaining. This time it was Chad. Don't worry, only his feet and legs got wet. Plus climbing the rocks is a workout...there really isn't anything bad about the tidepools.

Love is everywhere...

Albino crab...

Starfish...and Jake.

Boys climbing and looking for crabs.

Girls looking for shells and things.

My handsome husband.

Bobby & Emily

Carmel Beach: Day turns into night

The guys getting ready for some boogie boarding (not so sure of the spelling on that?). They rented wetsuits and boggie boards. Were extra prepared and way excited as you can tell from the photo. I would just like to say that these are really 3 of the silliest guys I know. My favorite is in the middle though.

This is what you do when you do not want to get into the freezing cold water: put your toes in the sand and take picture of the crazies in the water.

Getting ready for some waves.

I really like this picture...I'm no professional but I can capture the moment in a very nice photo if I do say so myself.

Becca and Parker

Katie and Dixie (yes she is adorable.)

Now that is a sunset...a good way to end the day and start the night.

Chad finally done in the water and getting warm by the fire.

Grandpa and Grandson

Brothers. I think they look a lot alike in this picture.

Farmers tan...But don't we look good together?

Admiring Dixie

Sorry this picture is crappy but I wanted one of all of us around the fire.

The Wharf: Day two

No its not dead...Poor sea lion had an injured nose and was trying to get better by relaxing in the sand. Sad!

Picture perfect if I do say so.

There was this "bird man" shall we say on the Wharf (man in the blue jacket) who had a half a dozen parots on a cart. They wer all different sizes and colors and had their wings clipped so they wouldn't fly away. The birds were very friendly and this one eventually fell asleep while Becca held him!

Parker and Dixie also held the birds but I didn't get pictures.

Silly runs in the family. Jake got it from Chad and Chad got it from his dad.

Tide Pools: Day two

Yeah, we love them that much. Back for a second day. This picture shows how far out you can go on the rocks. The tide was also lower the second day so you could go out even farther and there were a lot of uncovered rocks that were under water the previous day.

This was all under water the previous day.

Sisters

Sisters-in-law

The guys- pondering life...or posing for me.

Huge crab. Chad was the brave one that caught them all. He also was the one who got pinched by the claws...multiple times.

Jake: inspecting the catch.

I just thought this was beautiful with the sun and the green rocks. This too was also under water the previous day.

Starfish

Exploring

Beauty

Fish Wives for dinner

These were just too funny to not post. We went to a really good seafood restaurant for dinner. The food was great and Parker, the entertainment, was even better. He was upset about his food and I managed to click the button and get his face. I was actually taking a picture of Dixie. Then I showed everyone and we had a good laugh...

And then Parker thought it was funny too. Meanwhile Dixie sleeps the whole time.

It was such a fun weekend! Monterey is wonderful and will forever be a Bringhurst tradition. We were so glad to have the whole family together for a weekend! Thanks for hanging in there until the end of this loooong post.