Adventures

Here I am! I know... you couldn't find me for the LONGEST time! Why is that you ask? Life, is my simple reply... Life. Sometimes it is full of fun, sometimes of trials, and sometimes a mix. Mine has been of the 'mix' nature as of late. While I will not share the trials with you (like you really want to know, right?), I will share the fun part!

In September Rach and I decided to take a trip to Monterey, via Half Moon Bay and Hwy 1 (otherwise fondly known as PCH, well, in SoCal anyway!). As I stated we began our journey in Half Moon Bay, where we ate at Barb's FishTrap - hands down the best fish and chips in the west! SO, SO Good! Yum. (and yes, we did take pictures of our food, but since I already have so many pictures in this post I won't share them, but Rach probably will on her blog, so go and take a gander there!)

Following lunch we took a stroll along the beach. It was a beautiful day (as you can see from the restaurant pic), but the beach was not quite so beautiful. There was a ton of seaweed and a dead seal on the beach. One of the natives told us they were finding dead seals all along the coast due to them being malnourished. Odd. I wonder where all of their food went?

On our way to Monterey we stopped and took a picture of this lighthouse. We didn't even get out of the car (didn't want to run into traffic later in Santa Cruz). I just liked it and wanted to share it with all of you! =)
Another stop we made along our way was in Morro Bay - Phil's Fish Market, famous for being on a Bobby Flay Throw Down! We just had to stop and sample their cioppino - which is a tomato based fish soup - with all kinds of seafood in it! And they were still in the shell! Clams, oysters, shrimp, crab, squid, etc. We ordered one serving of soup and it was a good thing we did! We were so full from sharing our food at both restaurants that we actually went and got dessert at Save Mart instead of getting dinner!
Rachel and I stayed at Asilomar. Not by any means a fancy place, very down to earth and homey, without televisions and such. It really is very basic, but it is the closest thing to the ocean you can find in Pacific Grove and we love it there. We really enjoyed our stay.

Downtown Carmel

Rach at a little place in Carmel... don't you love this picture of her? I do!

Me in Carmel... no comment.

Interesting mural on a building in Carmel.

Rach at the beach. Gorgeous day, gorgeous girl!

It was a full moon so the tide was way in!

I've never seen it so high and I've been there many, many times!

Switching gears...

Last week we, Pat, Rach and myself, when to Utah. Pat had to give a presentation at the Lifelong Learning Conference for Engineering alumni and current students. So, we went with him. :) Lucky us!

The Conference was quite interesting, though we only saw Pat's presentation on the CA levee systems. (he did such a good job, I am so proud of him!) However, from the way he talked it was really amazing the people that were there the subjects. I am happy he enjoyed it so much!

After he was done with his presentation we took a drive on the Alpine Loop. I love that drive. I remember driving it all the time as students at BYU. We couldn't afford dates so we would go and drive the loop and be perfectly happy being together. Oh, the good ol' days!

Aspen Grove

Alpine Loop in Fall colors.

Such a lovely drive...

Such a lovely girl!

Switching gears, yet again, sort of.

While we were in Utah and Pat was busy all day Thursday and Friday we didn't get to spend much time with him. And when we did he wasn't feeling that great! Friday night we went to a Fish Fry at the Clyde bldg. on campus, which was wonderful! (salmon and halibut from AK) So delicious! We were happy that Craig, Angie and Lucas were able to go with us. That was way fun!

On Saturday we all went to Salt Lake and went to Temple Square - something we rarely get to do while in Utah. Here are some of the pics we took there:

The Christus

Replica of SLC temple in the 2nd visitor's center. I loved it!

Closer look at the replica's interior...

Pat and I at Temple Square.

Rach at Temple Square.

Craig and Angie at Temple Square, near Church Office bldg.

After Craig, Angie and Lucas left to go home we decided to go back to temple square and walk around. Here is a picture of the temple at night.
And, finally, saving the best for last, as always... we got to spend time with this little guy, Lucas, whom we grow to love more and more every time we see him! We are so lucky! We love our grandkids! =)