Jeremy has asked me a couple times if I want to join him on a work trip. The answer is always – yes, I WANT to join him. The question is always the logistics … the girls (come or stay and with whom), school (can I take days off?), Pepper (one more thing), appointments, etc.
Finally, it seemed like it would actually work to go to California with him… and without the girls. Ellie said we just went to Glacier; I reminded her it was 7 months ago that that happened. So, maybe it would be okay if we went. We went without them for a few reasons: 1) it is cheaper, 2) they had some things going on, 3) there wasn’t a ton of time to settle in and do something fun with them; we moved around a lot.
So, logistics in place… Grandma Yoh shared grandkid watching time with Grandma and Grandpa Ediger. The latter took care of the dog. We took off on Saturday early morning from Cleveland.
It started well with an upgrade to FIRST CLASS!! Which includes more space and breakfast. Jeremy’s on the left, mine on the right.
We got in around noon to San Francisco, picked up our rental car, and headed into town. We decided to hit the tourist highlights as possible in as short as time as possible – Pier 39 - Check. Clam Chowder in sourdough bread - Check. Sea Lions – Check. A view of Golden Gate Bridge – Check. A view of Alcatraz – Check. Biscoff Coffee WITH Biscoff cookie from plane – Check. Fisherman’s wharf – Check. Lombard Street, the Crookiest Street in the world – Check. And the whole time we walked.. no rain. The minute we got in our car… rain. It was such a gift!
From there, we drove to Pismo Beach, the location of Jeremy’s worksite. Thanks to all the rain California has been getting the landscape was much greener than I had seen it in previous trips. It was stunning.
We stayed in a hotel with these little patios, which was cute. We had breakfast at Penny’s All American Diner; it was tasty and we just beat the crowd. We ventured out on the pier, watched some surfers braving waves and temperatures I wouldn’t have, and listened to the ocean.
Then, we went to Carmel by the Sea. I hadn’t ever been here, but it is one of Jeremy’s favorite places, this area of California. We went somewhere he hadn’t yet been though – Point Lobos State Nature Preserve. It is, in my opinion, a place to NOT MISS. It was beautiful there. There were unique trees, moss strung among some of the sections, coastlines to take your breath away, low-tide tide pools with dramatic purple sea urchins, tiny clams, and other sea creatures moving about, The one of me standing with a tree on the side of the cliff in the background… That tree is called Old Veteran; it is 1000 years old. That type of tree is only found here and at Pebble Beach. Pretty cool.
We went to Pebble Beach for sunset. While it was cold, the sun set was beautiful. Jeremy was braver than I and dipped his toes into the ocean. I stayed bundled up in all the things I had brought.
The next day while Jeremy went to work, I ventured to Mission Trail Nature Preserve. It had a lot of tiered walking paths kinda all leading to the same places. I ended up at this old mansion, Flanders Mansion, with a beautiful view out the back.
I came back to the hotel and took refuge for about an hour while it rained outside. When Jeremy returned, we packed up and headed to check out 17-mile Drive. You enter with a fee and it meanders around Pebble Beach Golf Area. There are like 3-4 different golf course here, but that’s the one I know the name of. At any rate, it is a gated area, but if you pay, you can take this scenic route. To be honest, I thought after being at Point Lobos the day before that this would be a little redundant. It wasn’t. And, yes, I recommend both if you are in that area. The pictures don’t do it justice. Watching the water – the waves, the rocks, the sounds, the whitecaps, the animals. I took more videos of it, and we sat mesmerized by it multiple times. There was the famous Lone tree that is trademark logo of Pebble Beach in one of the pictures. There are spotted seals in another. One is a picture of bird rock – aptly named as you can see by the birds roosting on it; there was also a sea lion, a seal, and a sea otter playing in the water at this spot. Many of these beaches about a month from now will be filled with sea lion and/or seal pups as it is almost that time of the year. And the last picture is of the 18th hole.
My mom and the girls picked me up in Akron/Canton on Tuesday evening. Jeremy stayed a day longer to finish up work.
I wasn’t feeling well on the return trip – sore throat, headache. So, when I got home, I tested for COVID. Positive. That meant the rest of the week off school for me. Sub plans to write on Tuesday night. Masks for the girls. Masks in the house. And isolation. It wounds fun, right? Not so much. I had a low grade fever that made life uncomfortable, as well as congestion. Jeremy had the same thing (surprise, surprise). In between naps, I ordered groceries, wrote IEPs that were due next week, caught up on laundry, and walked the dog down the road. It was exhausting. Jeremy and I are finally (as of Saturday) finally feeling a bit of relief. It feels more like a cold than other stuff at this point. Thankful that I don’t have to take more days off work next week; I wasn’t so sure on Friday if I would ever get better! The girls have been troopers – eating alone at the table, getting themselves up and ready in the morning, wearing masks. So, we are not yet back to normal life, but we are getting there.
