A little get-a-way to San Jose

With my youngest brother and his wife here in Northern CA for a few weeks this summer, we were excited to get together over the Fourth of July weekend.  My friend who lives in San Jose was out of town and so it worked out great that she let us stay at her house while she was gone.  We drove down to San Jose Wednesday night after soccer practice and traffic had settled.  David and Jordan met us there and we enjoyed a few fun days together. 

 Thursday we enjoyed a beautiful hike through the hills close to Andrea’s house.  Then we took off for the beach, checking out Half Moon Bay. 

 We love the beach and had an especially fun time playing keep a-way! These are my favorite moments, when we can ALL play together.  The sounds of laughter, tackling Dad, diving in the sand, and full on wrestling with Uncle David…it all was the best part of the day!! 

 We spent the majority of the day there, stopped for dinner at In N’ Out Burgers, and headed home for frozen homemade ice cream.  After showering and getting the kids down, I was up for a movie, but the other three adults were asleep after only a few minutes. 

Friday, Jordan and I took off for an early morning run.  It was a beautiful morning and running along the San Jose hills made for a pretty view.  After breakfast, we took off for Monterey to watch the parade.  It was a fun, small town parade with many interesting groups.  The kids were disappointed to not get candy thrown at them, but enjoyed it nonetheless. 

 

 

We walked down the parade route and main walking area to the beautiful marina area to admire the boats and hear from some of the street performers. 

 Boy do I love these cute kids and my "baby" brother!!

 Next, we headed to a park in Monterey where they were having festivities, including food booths and an outdoor concert.  We had a picnic lunch there and walked around a bit before heading to Carmel.  David and Jordan had not been there and we love to drive through the main street and along the road along the coast.  Those homes and cottages are So darling, so expensive, and so fun to look at.  After that we went to Point Lobos NatureReserve.  It was fantastic!

   We took a hike along bird trail to China Cove and Bird Island. 

 The sand was a beautiful white and the water, a gorgeous green!  

 

 Bird Island, full of black birds, was pretty to look at, but quite smelly to observe. 

We found some great tide pools, 

some beautiful hikes right along the coast, sea lions, deer, and an amazing Cyprus grove!   

Long called the “crown jewel” of the California State Parks, we loved Point Lobos!!

After that we drove the gorgeous 17 mile drive, (stopping at a few of the highlights, including the famous "Lone Cyprus")

grabbed some dinner and headed to the outlets for some shopping in Gilroy before the fireworks.  They were amazing!!! Seriously, it was a great show with huge fireworks! 

Saturday, we enjoyed a pretty morning run and then packed up, found lunch, and headed to Castle Rock State Park.  This park is like “boy heaven” with HUGE boulders and rocks to climb on. 

  There were many experienced climbers that were fun to watch too.  It was a great stop, with a short hike and the kid’s even got official California State Park Junior Ranger pins from the ranger. 

 We said good-bye to David and Jordan as we headed different directions on the freeway.  It’s always wonderful to be together and we sure hope they move close by after graduation.