A Central Coast Thanksgiving...

We decided to stick around this Thanksgiving and see some of California we haven't discovered yet.  It's always hard knowing your family is together celebrating, eating delicious turkey dinner, and playing in the fresh Utah snow, but I really loved the time I was able to spend with our little four-some before we become a five-some.

We jumped in our car Wednesday morning and headed North to Santa Barbara.  Unfortunately, I booked our first two nights of hotel for the weekend BEFORE, which we didn't discover until we tried to check in.  Luckily, my husband was easy on me - probably seeing how hard I was being on myself - and we tried to make the most of it even though we lost our $$ and had to fork out more cash for new hotel rooms.  

Thursday morning we woke up to a gorgeous Thanksgiving day.  We took a long walk along the boardwalk, through the sailboats, and out onto the scenic byway.  The kids had fun dodging the white water as it crashed over the seawalls and throwing rocks into the harbor.

Finnley brought along her Hello Kitty doll and stroller and was the best little mommy.  She would make sure her doll took long naps, she'd rock her to sleep while watching TV, she even put her in time-out for crying too much.

We had celebrated Thanksgiving the Sunday before, when we invited Damon over for a traditional Turkey dinner, just in case we weren't able to find one in Santa Barbara.  (Remember what happened to us on Thanksgiving in 2009?)  So, we weren't expecting much, but ended up having the perfect Thanksgiving.  We stopped by Gelson's, picked up some of their delicious grub from their hot food line, and headed across the street to a nearby park.  We sat, we ate, we talked, we played, then we hopped in the car and headed to our next stop.  Perfect, if you ask me.

We drove through vineyards, and farmland to Solvang - a little Danish town.  Our kids had both crashed. Being Thanksgiving, most of the shops were closed anyway, so we just drove around, and then drove on through.  It was fun to see though.

 

Friday morning we woke up in San Luis Obispo.  We headed South to Pismo Beach to enjoy some yummy breakfast at Old West Cinnamon Rolls, and then went straight to the shore.  It was a bit chilly at first, but the kids automatically stripped down to their suits and got straight to work decorating their sand-cars with shells, flowers, and trash found on the beach.

Saturday started off with bagels and a hike to Bishop's Peak.  We had heard from several people that this was a great hike, and they were right.  Finnley was the toughest little chicka and hike the-whole-thing by herself (4 miles).  Her little cheeks were flushed bright pink by the time we made it to the summit, and sure, she asked about a billion times "are we there yet?", but she did it and we were all very proud.

Dieter, on the other hand, got a free ride up (with the exception of about 50 feet) and crashed on the way down.  Now that's the way to hike.

Overlooking San Luis Obispo

Our next stop was probably the kids favorite! Bubblegum Alley in downtown SLO.  We had discovered it the night before, but had to come back and make our mark by adding our very own bubblegum.  Pretty much, its a little walking alley that has been covered by gum for years and years.  It even smells like bubblegum...duh.  We kept telling the kids not to touch (can you imagine the germs!) but Finn lost her footing and went full-frontal into the wall.  Yuck.

Dieter making his mark!

Sunday we headed even further North to San Simeon where we visited the Hearst Castle.  It was interesting, to say the least, and we're glad we saw it.  Our kids loved seeing the Zebras left over from Hearst's original zoo, and Mitch and I fell in love with the pools.  Amazing.

Finnley posed us like this!

Last on our list, and the thing Finnley had been waiting for the entire trip, was our stop at Seal Beach to see the Elephant Seals.  There were tons and tons, but unfortunately they were all asleep.  Any action going on was too far away for us to really enjoy, but it was still an awesome sight.  The males were massive, and watching them go in and out of the water looked like a total feat!

We absolutely loved our Thanksgiving weekend, and had fun discovering parts of California we'd never seen.  Although our time here is now quickly coming to an end, we hope to experience as much as we can before we head East.

Funny Memories I don't want to forget:

Finnley freaking out about "losing" her bagel, ten seconds after she handed it to me to slice.  She got a good laugh at herself for that one.

Dieter falling asleep with a mouthful of goldfish for at least and hour, and then waking up and finishing them off like it was no big deal. 

Mitch with his headphones in his ears listening to football while we dragged him on excursions.

Me, yelling at my kids to listen so I could tell them how much I love them and that I am Thankful for them.  Oxymoron?