Blessings in Monterey!

It's always fun experiencing a first with my hubby. This past weekend, we went to Monterey together for the first time. What a place! I am falling in love with the northern coast of California. The trees are unbelievable, so different than what I'm used to seeing in the southern and central coast areas of California.

Although we were drawn by the sea and sand, our primary reason to visit Monterey was to see friends. One of Robby's college roommates had just moved back to California with his wife, after being in Germany for three years! We had a sweet time together, catching up and hearing what's new in their lives. And their beautiful home--complete with a stunning garden--made it the perfect atmosphere to do so! (Just look at their callas and narcissus blooming like crazy!)

We all hiked to Point Lobos together, enjoying the gorgeous Monterey Cypress trees and coastal Redwoods. I knew we were going to see something beautiful, but nothing could have prepared me for the view we came to:

Glory!!! I'm sure I sounded like I had never seen the ocean before with my squeals, but truly, it was an amazing sight. And it kept getting better: we saw seals, a sea otter, and off in the distance a whole slew of migrating whales! Well...I saw their puffs, which was awesome. The others were able to see the backs of the whales slightly skim the surface.

We made it to a bunch of tide pools where sea anemone, snails, crabs, and other tiny creatures were hanging out. Robby and Tex climbed down to get a better look and catch some of the crashing waves.

The only downside was that I slipped and landed in one of the tide pools. Yep. Except for cold, wet pants, I was fine. 

We were so blessed to see our old friends. We left encouraged and invigorated, a sign that the time was nothing but good.