Our 10th Anniversary - DAY ONE

We celebrated our 10th anniversary where we honeymooned in Carmel-By-The-Sea. We chose this spot because it is close enough to visit often, but this was the first time we had been back! We'll definitely have to make more trips here in the future! We started our first day by driving down to Big Sur.

Bixby Bridge.

Nepenthe

After driving around Big Sur, we stopped and ate lunch at Nepenthe. We sat on the balcony and just soaked in all the beauty. These pics were taken from my seat.

Point Lobobs State Reserve

It has been said that this is the greatest meeting of land and sea, and the following pictures will show you why.

I found myself walking on rainbow colored sand. Apparently, it was a "middin" or kitchen from the Indians who lived here hundreds of years ago. What is left is crushed abalone shells all throughout the ground!

We couldn't tell what this otter was carrying until I did a full zoom with my camera and then cropped after that! After we got this shot, we bumped into a docent who gave us our own private tour! We asked about the otter and he said that they carry their young for up to 8 months after they're born! Neat that we got to see that!

The orange stuff is algae and the grey stuff is lace lichen. It felt like we were on another world!

Just when we thought we had seen all the beauty this reserve had to offer, we took one last walk and found China Beach.

After such a long day we mustered up enough energy to walk around downtown Carmel and found a superb restaurant where we had a four course meal for less than the price of our lunch! Yummy and a great way to end the day.

DAY TWO

We started the day driving along the 17-Mile Drive to get to Monterey.

The Lone Cypress.

The Drive dropped us off at Cannery Row where we did some shopping and dining. We ate lunch at el Torito on top of the ocean.

After that we drove over to Fisherman's Wharf. We found a nice vendor fair next to the Wharf and then headed back to Carmel to see the Mission before it closed.

Anywhere you turn, you find beauty!

We finished the day by taking a tour of the Carmel Mission, which happens to be where Junipero Serra is buried.

They had cyclamen at the mission, which was the flower I chose for our reception decorations.

Then we went to the beach before heading back to our cottage for the night. It was a long and beautiful day.

DAY THREE

We took Pacific Coast Highway most of the way home.

Julia Phieffer Burns State Park. The "paradise" is literally across the highway.

The day was filled with cloud cover and bursts of sun.

We stopped at Moro Bay and got some pictures of Moro Rock.

Can you see the different hues of blue? I was in constant awe. I need to ask a biologist how in the world the water could be so light in such deep parts. It reminded me of the Bahamas!

The closest we got to Hearst Castle this year was this picture I took from inside the car while driving on the freeway.

This was by far one of the most memorable anniversary trips we have had yet. It was beautiful and relaxing. Thanks Christys, Leudtkes and Dad and Pam!