Monterey

So here we are in Monterey, Lynn and I.  I can't remember the last time I was here, but it is beautiful as ever. Remembering the last time I saw Lynn is easier.  I visited her a month after she moved to San Diego and she was only there for 3 months, so I last saw her in July of 2012.

We decided to meet in the middle.  She now works in Santa Barbara and it's about a 4-5 hour drive (according to Yahoo) from there and it's about a 3-4 hour drive from Davis.  And we knew this would be a fun town to explore.

I got here shortly after noon and sent her a text saying I couldn't get in the hotel parking lot until she got here and that I was going in search of a bathroom.  By the time I had returned from McDonalds (after nearly killing myself trying to go the wrong way down a street), parked at a beach parking lot next to the hotel, and taken a picture of where we will be for the next two nights, she had already checked in. (She obviously drives faster than I do.)

 Our hotel

We settled into our room and took pictures of the photo shoot that was going on in the hotel pool.  I don't know what this is for, but I did manage to get a picture of the bride and groom as they leaped into the pool! (The guy IN the pool has an underwater camera.)

 We had checked the internet and found a restaurant we wanted to try on Fisherman's Wharf, Old Fisherman's Grotto...I found the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf not all that different from San Francisco's, but fewer junky gift shops.

 

The restaurant was lovely.  The only thing that was a disappointment was that there were no free window seats, but we settled ourselves in with some nice local wine and, of course...

..

This was garlic roasted crab and it was wonderful, as was the couscous that it rested on.

The two of us polished off a whole bottle of Pinot Grigio and a fabulous--one of the best I've tasted--creme brulee.

Then we went walking along the wharf and checked out junky souvenir stand before heading back to the hotel.  I discovered that Tom and Laurel have done exactly what Walt and I did.  They have one child (Brianna) whose name is very easy to find on stuff, and one (Lacie) whose name is impossible to find.  I figure I have about one more year of getting Brianna stuff before I have to stop because Lacie will feel left out!

We are both so stuffed from the huge lunch that we are probably just going to order some hors d'oeuvres from the hotel restaurant, sit by the windows in the lobby and watch the ocean.

 

It's so great to see Lynn again!