Sunflowers in Our Hair

We headed up to northern California this past weekend to have all kinds of fun. We weren't disappointed. I'd never been north of Santa Barbara and I can't believe it took me so long to check out the north side of this gorgeous state.

Shelby drove part of the way. Ok, just kidding. We'll enjoy our time before she really is begging to get in the driver's seat. This is during a stop at a little hermitage on the side of the road. Shelby was super well-behaved on the drive up, but even babies need to stretch their legs sometimes. We ended up stopping for about 30 minutes right after this - part of the road had washed away and traffic was down to one lane!

We left bright and early Friday morning and took the 101 to San Luis Obispo. From there we took the 1 all the way to Monterey. It was the most amazing drive I've ever been on. The sunrise, the winding two lane highway, the rocky beaches, the big waves, the tiny towns (like Harmony, CA - population 19!), the ranches, the mountains...wow. I'd recommend a joyride along this stretch any time.

Ed and Jen were in California on vacation and were the reason for our visit. We met them in Monterey and introduced them to Shelby. We spent the day at the aquarium, shopping, having yummy milkshakes, eating seafood, and enjoying the sights.

You can't tell, but this window stretched far into one of the fish tanks. Shelby loved it.

We spent the night in San Ramon, the beautiful city where my handsome Tom grew up. Then in the morning we cruised over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. I've never had a huge desire to go there, but when I found out Tom was from that area I figured I'd have a chance eventually. Thank goodness I did! San Francisco is so cool!

Our first stop was Alcatraz. The more the merrier for a trip like that, so luckily Bill, Austin, and Kennan were able to come down and meet us there.

 Shelby really was excited, even though she looks pretty over it here.

See the cute toy? That kept her entertained the whole weekend. Thanks Uncle Ed and Aunt Jen!

All the kids happened to wear green, which was cute.

Taking time out for a nature hike on the island.

Creepy jail cell.

Shelby had a blast running around with Ed and Jen...

...but eventually needed time with dad to recharge.

One of Shelby's favorite parts of the trip was crawling through the grass near Ghiradelli Square. She didn't get many chances to be free range Shelby during the trip, so she really soaked up her freedom here.

She found all kinds of things in the grass. 
Tom kept trying to clear out the icky stuff before it ended up in her mouth. 
He was doing well until he grabbed some bird poop thinking it was a white feather. Yuck!

It got a bit windy...but that didn't stop her!

I got to do lots of touristy things, and it was a perfect San Francisco trip for me. I crossed a bridge, went to Alcatraz, went to Pier 39, had chowder in a bread bowl, drove down Lombard Street, and saw the Golden Gate bridge. Loved it all. Plus it was an uncharacteristically warm day, which made it all the more pleasant.

After we left the city Tom took us on a tour of his hometown. I loved it there. I can definitely see why he speaks so highly of San Ramon.

We spent the evening letting Shelby crawl around the hotel and then sleep while we had Zachary's pizza. That stuff totally deserves the hundreds of Best Pizza awards to its name. Yum. It was so good it became breakfast and lunch the next day...naughty, but so delicious.

The only bummer was that we planned on going to Tom's old ward, but it was Stake Conference. What are the odds? Oh, well. We got on the road early and made it home early enough to have a relaxing evening. Shelby was a trooper in the car again - thank goodness! What a girl.

We're so glad we had a chance to see the family this weekend. Thanks you guys!