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A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Weekend Getaway: Monterey Playground January 26, 2014

Filed under: California — Kelocity @ 4:11 am
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On our last day in Monterey, we kept it simple and headed to a playground so Adele could burn off some steam before being in the car for five hours. After some googling, we settled on the Dennis the Menace Playground. It did not disappoint.
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It was built decades ago so it didn’t fall into the traditional parks you see nowadays. They just don’t make em’ like they used to. Check out this slide! (hey, adults can play too!)
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And look at this one! It was a ‘roller’ slide. 
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Our plan to tucker Adele out worked. She was fried after a couple of hours of climbing, sliding and running.
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She slept for 3 of the 5 hours on the way back to LA. I spent the rest of the ride in the back seat with her reading, singing and playing. (And maybe some Elmo watching as well… shhh! I’ll never be one of THOSE parents. haha)

Here’s a video of Adele in the backseat (note: it’s dark, just listen!) All she wanted was to watch Elmo and mom singing was NOT going to cut it this time. ha.

 

Weekend Getaway: Monterey Butterflies January 25, 2014

Filed under: California — Kelocity @ 4:51 am
Tags: , , ,

After our full day at the Aquarium, we all slept great and woke up ready for more! Our room was comfortable with a king bed, and plenty of room for a pack n play. All three nights we were there, we put Adele down around 8pm and turned out the lights. Then Irving and I sat in bed and read on our phones/laptops in the dark for another hour before passing out. We logged a lot of sleep while we were up there, it was great!

We headed back to the Black Bear Diner for breakfast (it’s THAT good!) I had an amazing biscuit with a side of fruit. Adele had some ham and eggs with berries and toast on the side.
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Our destination for the morning was the Natural History Museum.
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We thought the Butterfly Exhibit was there, but turns out it was actually a few blocks down. Before we left, we explored the ‘backyard’ of the museum and found this fun nest to play in!

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I love this picture. She’s climbing trees!
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We eventually did find the Butterflies! The Monarchs love the trees and weather in this particular neighborhood and come for a visit for a few months each year.
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They had a simple trail where you could walk down and back and observe all the pretty butterflies.
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The tip-toes!
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I love her free spirit and love of the outdoors. She was running so fast I thought she would trip!
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The butterflies were awesome, there were SO many!
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We had a great time looking at the “Utter-fries” =)
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After our fun morning, we headed back to the hotel so Adele could take a nap. We took advantage of our built-in babysitters and snuck out for an afternoon date! First, we headed to Lover’s Point to climb some rocks and watch the waves. It felt like the old, adventurous ‘Kelley and Irving’.
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After that, we had lunch together, walked around a mall, got some Coldstone ice cream and then say American Hustle in the theater! It was SO wonderful to get away for a few hours. We had a blast. It was the perfect date!

 

Weekend Getaway: Monterey Aquarium January 24, 2014

Filed under: animals,California — Kelocity @ 1:02 pm
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Over the long weekend, we trekked five hours up the coast of California to the seaside town of Monterey. We met up with Irving’s mom and grandmother while we were there. It was three days of fish, ocean, family and relaxation. We had a lot of fun.
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First up on our list of things to do was of course the Monterey Aquarium. It’s a must see, we spent ALL day there.

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We knew Adele would like it, but we had no idea she would LOVE it. She had her face plastered to the tanks, we had to peel her away to move on to the next one.
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Her silhouette pigtails are the CUTEST!
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Hey fishie! Come here!
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We briefly let her play in the touch pool, but she was more interested in watching than touching.
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The aquarium is right on the bay, so you can go outside and catch a glimpse at the wildlife out there as well. She was mesmerized by the waves. She kept saying “Water! Water! Water!”
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But we eventually made it back inside to watch the Penguins!
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This was a ‘beach’ exhibit with lots of birds on the sand. She really liked this one.
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Once it was apparent it was nap time for the little (and lunchtime for the adults), we headed back to our hotel. (Shoes not required…the shoes and socks came off one by one on the ride back to the car!)
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Adele took a nice nap and Irving, Nini and I snuck off for a nice lunch at the Black Bear Diner. (Thanks for babysitting Adele, Julie!) When she woke up, she was in a great mood, so we headed back to the Aquarium to take fully advantage of our tickets!
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First stop was a visit back to see the waves!
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Outside, they have an exhibit where you can stand under a glass wall and a wave will ‘crash’ over you. You never get wet of course, but Adele thought it was HILARIOUS. She got scared and then giggled. Over and over.
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Back inside, we checked out the Jellyfish exhibits. I remembered these from when I first visited here in 2002(?)
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You could even make a drawing and it would ‘swim away’ like a Jellyfish would. Irving’s quite the artist!
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We spent the rest of our time there in the toddler playground area. They had a slide and bouncy things to climb on. And also a fish tank tunnel with little Nemos!
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That night, we all went for Chinese Food (really really good Chinese food!) and then called it a night. We were all pretty tired. It was a full, wonderful day.

Stay tuned for more photos of the rest of our weekend!

 

 
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