A much needed weekend getaway

Byron and I had so much fun on our combined early 30th birthday trip this past weekend.  A HUGE thank-you to my parents for watching the kids for four days.  Thank you so much for making the trip possible--it meant SO much to us!  We drove up the California coast and it was all so beautiful and relaxing.  Oh how I love my dear husband.  Time spent with him is absolutely the best!

Day 1:

We drove up "the 1" most of the way, through Malibu and along the coast, and then stopped in Santa Barbara for some sight-seeing.  Santa Barbara is so much more beautiful than I imagined.  We both decided we'd love to live there.  Too bad we looked up home prices and there is literally NOTHING for sale under a million dollars.  Seriously, nothing, not even a little cottage/shack/piece of junk.  Nada.

City hall was so pretty and had beautiful views from the bell tower.

The only continuously operating mission in California.  It's still run by the Franciscans so it has a bit of positive slant on the early Spanish treatment of the native people.  

We planned to camp our first night in a beautiful state park called "Montana del Oro" and it far exceeded our expectations.  It was incredibly gorgeous.

"Spponer's Cove," named after Mr. Spooner, the cattle rancher who once owned the land in this area and built the house seen in the picture below.  Byron kept repeating the mantra "Spooner, you dog" the whole time we were camping because we were so jealous of the beautiful place he got to live.  A green hillside covered by tall, thick trees, at the edge of a pristine sandy beach, with towering, rocky bluffs offering gorgeous views on either side?  Yes, please!

We found this cool sea cave and were able to find a way inside without getting wet!

Yep, that was the way we climbed in.  Not bad for a woman who is almost six months pregnant!

I was seriously soooo excited about camping in the back of our van.  And no tent set-up or take-down!

Day 2:

The campground was on one side of Morro Bay, and when we left the next morning, we went into town to visit the famous Morro Rock at the other end.

After spending a little time in Morro Bay, we drove up to our final destination, Cambria, a quaint little seaside town where we rented a cute cottage to stay in for the next two nights.

Day 3:

Most of the day was dedicated to visiting Hearst Castle.  I had visited with my family once before as a teenager, but didn't remember much, so it was really fun to go back.  Hearst was quite the self-indulgent man, that's for sure!  A 65,000 square foot house built over more than 20 years that he claimed was still only 50% done before constructed halted at his death.  And his art collection is absolutely mind-blowing.

On our way back to Cambria from Hearst Castle, I told Byron that the only thing that could make the trip better was if I could see the wild zebras that roam around the cattle lands, descendants from the zebras Hearst once had at his private zoo.  A couple of minutes later, we spotted them!  I know they're super hard to see in this picture, but I was very, very excited to find them. 

Day 4:

A morning hike through the nature preserve, browsing shops around cute downtown Cambria, and a long drive home.

This long weekend away thing needs to happen much more often!