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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

CA Thanksgiving Trip 2017

We got home this past weekend from our annual Thanksgiving trip to CA! We did all the usual things we love to do: Sam and I going into San Fran for the day, watching a plethora of cheesy Christmas movies, hitting up a few parks with the kids, getting in a bit of Christmas shopping......but we also got to do a few extra special activities this year too! 

Like going down to Monterey Bay, perusing Fisherman's Warf, and going on a whale watch at Chris's Fishing and Whale Watching! It was AMAZING! 1 hour out, 1 hour there, 1 hour back. No one got sea sick and we actually got to see whales! WIN! I decided to take it easy this trip and relied only on my phone for photos, so I didn't get any spectacular shots, but that's alright. I saw and lived in the moment!   


After the whale watch, we went out to lunch at Domenico's on the Wharf. We managed to snag window tables, got 2 free appetizers, and 10% off our bill as well. Awesome! The fish and chips were great, and Sam said his seafood pasta was delicious. The kids even all tried calamari and liked it! Woo-hoo! I loved that we were at window tables; we got to watch all the jellyfish and birds! The birds were totally begging for food. Anthony may or may not have opened up the window and tossed a little somethin'-somethin' out to the birds and caused a frenzy of squawking that got everyone laughing. May or may not have. Hahaha


Treat time! Ice cream and a little gaming at an arcade!


Also during our stay in Monterey Bay, we took a super fun kayaking trip! We rented kayaks from Monterey Bay Kayaks and paddled our way through Elkhorn Slough, seeing otters, seals, birds, and tons and tons of jellyfish! Kayaking was, hands down, my favorite part of our trip! Wearing the wet suits was super fun, the kids looked adorable, haha! We were about for about 2 hours, it was awesome. We got lucky with great weather and riding the tide back in was nice, after paddling against it the whole way out!   


Our final fun stop in Monterey was Fort Ord Dunes State Park. My oh my, the beautiful colorful, sandy hills were gorgeous! The kids had a blast digging in the sand and running away from the waves while Sam and I watched, soaking up the sun.


This year, instead of doing our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's, we went to Betty Ann's house (a family friend), and spent Thanksgiving with her. We ate a meal of heavenly hamburger and broccoli salad, exchanged gifts, and chatted. It was nice to have a no fuss, mellow Thanksgiving! 


We had a super fun trip this year! How awesome to hit the beach, go on a whale watch, and kayak around in November! 

With love,
Mama Hauck