The first weekend in October, we headed out to California for Cousin Travis' wedding to Dani. It was the girls' first trip to the west coast, and they were very excited to check out the beach.
The wedding was on the beach near Watsonville. We were able to rent a place right on the beach not far away.
We flew into San Jose with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Amy. While Grandma and Grandpa went with Uncle Arch, Aunt Amy came with us to check out
Henry Cowell Redwoods California State Park, which was awesome. The redwoods really are amazing. It was the first time any of us had seen them, and the girls had a blast walking the trail and checking out the trees. While at the visitor's center, Kara learned about the animals that live there and about seed size of different California conifers. Afterwards, we drove to our condo, unloaded, and met up with everyone for dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant. There was a group of sea loins loittering around the fishing boats. That would be our closest look at them this trip, so thanks for pointing them out Uncle Arch!
Sleeping has always been an issue on these trips, and we were pretty concerned since the girls were going to share a room at the condo. The first night Emily popped out about 10 times to talk with Mom and Dad, but eventually calmed down and went to sleep (Kara was very quick to settle down), though the girls did wake Dad up at 5 am because, as they said, they just couldn't sleep any more! The second night was better, and the third night was no problem at all. Hopefully, sleeping on vacation will get progressively better...
On Sunday we drove to Monterrey for the morning. We walked along the oceanfront and through downtown. We didn't go inside the Aquarium, but we did check out the observation deck. For lunch, we ate at a place that hung over the bay with great views. A big sea otter was kind enough to entertain us too! He was very close and fun to watch. We also saw seals a bit further out. Emily was pretty worn out after lunch, so we headed back to Watsonville.
That evening, there was a wedding rehearsal at the campsite followed by a cookout. Travis and Arch grilled out and had a great spread. The girls had a blast playing with Langdon, Dani's nephew. They also had games set up, which were a hit. The bonfire was also fascinating to the girls, along with being able to stay up a bit after the sun went down!
For Monday morning, we took it pretty easy and just headed down to the beach. The water was quite cold, but that didn't stop the girls from running right in (though Dad wasn't too happy about hanging out in the water). Kara spent most of the beach time just running around in the waves. Emily ran in the waves but also played in the sand for awhile. We were able to see a few dolphins in the distance from the condo too!
The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was on the beach with the reception up the hill at the campsite. Travis had asked if the girls could be a part of the wedding. The girls were supposed to walk down the aisle in front of the bride with a sign that said "Here Comes the Bride". Emily was pretty excited about it up until the time it came to actually walk down the aisle with the sign. She ended up just walking behind Kara while Kara held the sign.
The reception was awesome. It was catered from a a food truck. They had also set up games for the guests and had a S'mores cookout for dessert. The girls had a good time playing with their new friend Landon. And wouldn't you know it, Kara caught the bouquet. Oh, boy!
Welcome to the family, Dani!
Link to pictures
