Pacifica, California

This past Monday, Dan treated me to a trip to the Coast - without the kids! Typically, we are not that couple. We absolutely love taking our kids with us, but every once in a while it's nice to get away for some "just us" time. I think it had been nearly a year since we had our last day away!

Since my 35th birthday is just around the corner, and we can't really afford to have any sort of shin-dig, Dan wanted me to plan a Birthday Adventure. He said he'd take me anywhere I wanted to go & it only took me 30 seconds to decide.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love the ocean; those who know me best, know how much I also love meat. lol! Several moths ago, I was watching "Diner's Drive-In's & Dives" and they were at a BBQ joint just past San Francisco. I thought to myself, if it's good enough for Guy, then it's good enough for me. So, I gave Dan a link to the restaurant, and he did the rest. We discovered that the restaurant is just a quarter mile from the beach! BBQ AND beach?!?! How perfect! I got SO excited! We made the plans on Thursday of last week, so I was very grateful for a busy Friday/Saturday/Sunday. I felt like a little kid waiting out the last few days before Christmas!

Monday morning, Dan & I packed up the kids, dropped them off at a friends house & made the trip out to Pacifica. It was an unbelievably beautiful day. The marine layer burned off earlier than normal which resulted in clear blue skies, warm sun and a brisk wind. *sigh* It was amazing!

A few photos from our drive there & back.

First stop on our Adventure was the beach. Dan wanted to make sure there was a sufficient area to relax, and also enjoy our lunch. We found the perfect little beach! The view was stunning!! There was sand, rocks, hills, trails and even a little brook! I'm not gonna lie...I totally fell in love!! Sorry, Newport. This girl has a new fav beach!

Love.

Once we had figured out where we were going to chill, we drove back up the road to the restaurant to grab lunch. Oh man...you could smell it from IN the car, DOWN the street! haha!! It was very much what I wanted & well worth the drive!!!!

Once we got our food, we headed back to the beach, parked and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery & of course, our glorious MEAT!

 

The meat plate on the L was mine & the one on the R was Dan's. This doesn't show our HUGE amount of sides!!

Neither of us were able to finish even HALF of our food! haha! We were completely stuffed, but the trails and perfect weather were urging us to get out of the car & explore.

Along the jogging/biking trail, there were memorial benches. At the end is this 9/11 memorial bench area. Never forget!

 This beach really is perfect. There is just the right combination of sand, rocks, trails, etc. Dan & I were able to see every inch of it in a very short amount of time. That left us with an hour to just sit & soak up the sun!

Ahhhhhhhh.....

Eventually, it was time for us to leave the coast and head home. We took the opportunity to walk around the shops & hotels there along the beach. There really weren't very many shops, but we did find their Chamber of Commerce, so we asked about a sweet shop & local attractions. The ladies there were very nice, and we walked away with a lot of fliers (future field trips!) and directions to the sweet shop. What is it about the ocean that makes me crave salt water taffy?

Don't worry, it wasn't all for me. Most of it was, but not all of it. haha!!! Mmmm...

The trip home was s l o w goin'. We were brilliant and left the bay during peak traffic. It took us over 3 hrs to get home! Doh! It took us so long to get from Pacifica to Emeryville, that we decided to stop off at IKEA for a soda & bathroom break. Good thing we did! The traffic was brutal!!! But, with being able to chat with Dan, having all the candy to munch on, an IKEA catalog to browse, and my tablet to play with, it really was no big deal.




I cannot express to you how much this day away with Dan meant to me. Even tho' we were only gone for about 9 hours, it was all the time I needed to relax, de-stress & re-charge. Dan and I have decided to take the kids next week, It will be the prefect way to end our Summer Vacation. CAN'T WAIT!

Next time, I'll remember to pack the sunblock. HAHA!!