Weekend in Monterey

Last weekend we went to Monterey. It was beautiful and relaxing.

We went for three reasons:
- My husband's brother and his family were going to be there for the weekend
- Our friends (who have a kid the same age as M) wanted to go somewhere for the Labor Day weekend
- Monterey is fabulous

Accommodations
We rented a 3-br 2-ba AirBnB in Carmel, in an area in the hills, among ranch houses. We decided to splurge a bit on a bigger place because we figured we'd be spending a significant amount of time there - with two 2-year-olds who nap and go to bed around 8, it's necessary. The total cost for the weekend was about $900, and the bulk of it was the rental.

Food
We also kept our food costs down by buying groceries, so we had breakfast, snacks and grilled tacos for dinner one night. We got Vietnamese takeout the other night.

Fun
- On Saturday, we went for a "hike" in Point Lobos. It was more like a beautiful and short nature walk. M was initially scared to walk on the path, and then we didn't want her to walk on the path because there was very dense poison oak along both sides. Omer carried her on his shoulders most of the time, and I tried, as well. Thankfully we did get out to the water, and the view was quite enchanting, especially because it was after 5pm and the sun was starting to set.
- On Sunday, I went for a short but lovely run in the morning, and then took M to the aquarium. I enjoyed seeing the fish and the otters, but M was scared of...pretty much everything. She was OK with the penguins, I think. She did love the indoor play area, though we could've just as easily had that experience by going to a playground.
- Met up with brother-in-law, sister-in-law and Mila's cousins for lunch at the The Grill at Lovers Point.
- My mom was really interested in taking Mila for the night, so O and I drove her to Gilroy and did the handoff. I felt a bit conflicted about it because I also wanted to spend more time with her, but it's always nice to be able to have a relaxed dinner and to sleep in the next day.
- Went for a quick wine tasting with Lee afterwards while Omer grilled.
- On Sunday, O and I went for a nice run, had a leisurely breakfast and chatted, packed and cleaned up, and headed back around 1pm.

Definitely a worthwhile and memorable trip.