Big Trip to California

Over the holiday weekend I took my last big trip...to California! My mom and I flew out to visit Nicole on Friday night and got back Tuesday. It was a blast! Although I sometimes lagged behind, we did a lot and walked a lot! Saturday we spent in Mountain View (suburb of San Francisco where my sis lives) shopping and walking around Stanford. We also got to see Nicole's new apartment in Menlo Park which she moved into the day we left. Sunday we headed to Monterey for a side trip. Although it was cool and windy, it was beautiful there. We had a picnic by the ocean in the company of seals, sea otters, and sea gulls. We of course made a trip to Ghirardelli for ice cream (actually we went twice!). The hotel we stayed in was right on the beach with a great view. We even got to spend a little time sitting by the pool, which really made it feel like a vacation:) Monday, we went to Monterey Aquarium (where this picture was taken). It was very impressive and I'm glad we got a chance to go. When we got back to Mountain View we got a chance to meet some of Nicole's residency friends for dinner. What a great bunch of people! It was a great trip and I'm certainly glad we got it in before our little girl makes her appearance.