Weekend Wrap Up!

Happy Monday!

I slept straight through until 11am! How shameful! But I was pretty lethargic all day. I think it was just one of those days, ya know?

We didn't do too much on Friday. I finished a puzzle...

... and continued to suffer through the poison ivy picked up while in California. Keeping an ice pack on it helped.

Excuse the hairy legs. The thought of shaving over this stuff gives me the heebie jeebies!!!

Jelly fell asleep on my lap.

Paul and I went on a disc golf/running date at Willow Mill Park.

We watched a Samantha Bee, who is SO SMART AND FUNNY.

Really, I just moped around. It was just one of those days where I wasn't very happy. I did drink a TON of water though.

Again, I woke up super tired. But I had RESPONSIBILITIES today. I had to cat sit for little Bitty Bot!

She is a princess and drinks Fiji water!

Then, since I was over in Harrisburg anyway, I decided to run along the river, up to Central PA's Pride Festival. I walked around the Pride Festival and then continued on my run.

Later that afternoon, Paul and I headed to his parent's house to have dinner and visit with his parents and some of his aunts and uncles. I had never actually hung out with his aunts and uncles so it was REALLY fun to get to know them. I basically ended up chatting away with his aunts the whole time!

Me, Aunt Janie, Aunt Flossie, and Paul's momma, Deb!

 Swipey was there!!!!

It was a day just FULL of kitty cats because on our way home, we checked on Bitty Bot again!

I slept for 12 hours straight. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME? My poison ivy was worse when I got up. It's spreading up my leg. Do you think the poison is making me tired? I'm not taking any meds for it, so it's not like I'm taking steroids that would make me tired. It's a mystery...

I spent the morning on the couch with my baby. I think I am sleeping almost as much as Chrissy is these days!

Then I headed up to my parent's house in Millersburg to spend the afternoon/early evening with family!

I got there early and went for a 6 mile run. It was nice to run three days in a row in totally different places- NOT my neighborhood! I'm gonna write a post up about this run because I ran past a lot of places in my hometown that brought back memories!

Quiz: Where am I!?

Then I went back to my parent's house for dinner and family time! My bro and SIL were there with their kiddos, plus my brother Julian and his girlfriend Amy and their NEW BABY!!!!!

I finally got to meet my niece, Shannon River Michael!!!!

I call her Shanny. It's just what came out! Here are the nicknames I call my nieces and nephews:

Ellie = Ellers

Clementine = Clemmy (her fam calls her that)

Clark = Clarky Poo

Shannon = Shanny

Watch out... here comes a photo dump of my cute nieces  and nephews and then some family shots!

Kids can have so much fun with just a couple buckets of water...

Freaking Clementine!

Shannon!

Aunt Debby and Shannon

Debby and Clarky!

Ellie... wtf!?

 Clemmy and Grandpa!

 Clementine!!!???

I'm sure you're wondering where Paul was. Paul and I are INDEPENDENT PEOPLE and we don't always go to each other's family functions. It's one thing I love about our relationship! So on this particular day, it was a last minute get together, and Paul already had plans with a friend, so only I went.

We did get to hang out and watch Big Brother when I got home!

Do you have nicknames for your kids or nieces and nephews?

Why do you think I am so tired?

Do you and your spouse have to go to each other's family functions all the time or do you have the freedom to decide?

NorCal Day 3 (Route 1 South + this blog ends with a CLIFFHANGER!!!!)

The recaps continue!

You can check out Day 1 here.

You can check out Day 2 here.

Today was our epic road trip day! The plan was to drive 242 miles (over 7 hours!) down Route 1 from Garberville to Stinson Beach. I had lots of fun stops picked out along the way. Some of the things we skipped and some things we chose to do were surprises!

And yes, this blog ends in a cliffhanger. Very similar to the cliffs we drove next to on Route 1...

ANYWAY...

We left Garberville at 6:50am. I drank motel coffee but Paul needed "legit" coffee so we grabbed some on our way out of town.

We weren't even a half hour outside of Garberville before we hit contruction.... MAJOR construction. We were stopped for 40 MINUTES!!!!! Luckily we had a podcast and we just rolled with the punches. There was nothing we could do. We were on vacation... just embrace it, right!?

Finally, we were moving again. After the construction we were on 22 miles of the most winding road I have ever driven on. 

We were winding up and down a mountain and through the redwoods. It took nearly an hour to drive this road, but finally, we drove out of the redwoods, and BOOM THERE WAS THE BLUE PACIFIC OCEAN RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!

 Route 1 is gorgeous but also scary. Most of it runs right along huge cliffs. And there isn't always a guardrail! Luckily, I am a careful driver.

Our first stop on our road trip was the Point Cabrillo Light Station.

There was a 3/4 mile walk from the parking lot to the light station.

Freaking A!!!! Luckily, I know exactly what to do if you encounter a mountain lion...
1. Do NOT run, it will chase you.
2. Make yourself big, intimidating, and LOUD.
3. If it attacks you, FIGHT LIKE HELL because if you don't fight it off, you're dead.

Along the way, there were old houses that the people who worked at the light station lived in. You can rent these houses now.

The lighthouse was cute, but what was more beautiful was the cliffs and the sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.

The light station was the perfect spot to get out and stretch our legs. Next, we drove into the cute little town of Mendocino. The architecture here sort of reminds you of Cape Cod. The movie The Majestic was filmed in this town. We ate at The Good Life Bakery, then we walked around the town a bit. We found a trail that went right along the ocean. It was beautiful!

 Breakfast burrito!

Freaking love California!

You'd be hard pressed to find a sign this inclusive in Central Pennsylvania.

 And something like this would be vandalized in Central PA.

After Mendocino, we drove for a long time. We were going to stop at a park in Gualala but we couldn't find the trail we wanted. We stopped at lots of pull outs to take pictures...

There were lots of cool beaches around, and right before getting into Bodega Bay, we stopped at one. It was so chilly and windy though! 

In Bodega Bay, we originally thought we would kayak or SUP, but it was WAY too windy and chilly! Instead, we did our first ever wine tasting at Sonoma Coast Vineyards. We tried 5 different wines and they were all very good. Expensive, but good. We made friends with another couple. The woman was a retired teacher and principal. Of course we had lots to talk about!

Paul really enjoyed the wine tasting. He wants to do them with me now! It was never something I ever suggested doing, but I think it is something we'd enjoy doing together.

 After the wine tasting, I had a little buzz going, so driving was not an option! Instead, we killed some time by walking along the bay. Then we sat in the car and drank water, ate wheat thins and almonds. (We had picked up snacks at a Safeway when we were back in Arcata.) After about a half hour, I felt like I was okay to drive.

We found a cool spot along the bay to get out and explore...

Then we drove into Point Reyes Station so we could see the Cypress Tree Tunnel. Point Reyes Station is huge, and the tree tunnel was deep into the park. But it was worth it!

On our way out of Point Reyes Station, we stopped and grabbed sandwiches and chips for dinner. We were so tired and hungry. We could not wait to get to the Stinson Beach Motel, eat our grub, and watch Big Brother. After all, it was Thursday, which was EVICTION NIGHT!

However, after checking into the motel, it was so terrible, unsafe, and CREEPY that we checked out and demanded our money back! You will not even believe it when I tell you the story.

Unfortunately, you will have to wait until Tuesday, because this story deserves it's own blog post!

What's the longest you sat in traffic?
Have you even see a mountain lion?
Do you like wine tastings?