Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali

Our visit to Cali was AWESOME! I've been to Cali before but never with my sweet baby boy. This was his first official visit and he was ah-mazed. But, really, how could you not be amazed by some of the most beautiful US coastline?? I had no idea how beautiful it truly is!  17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach...what the what? I swear I saw Tiger Woods out there!  In fact, it was so nice that we weren't even phased by the dreadful weather, 50's and raining!  Seb wouldn't stop running for the icy waters. Twice daddy fell into the ocean trying to save Sebastian from submerging himself. My hubby, the lifesaver!  The seagulls were the main attraction though. Seb's growing bird interest really came to the forefront when he saw these guys. They were so tame, they let him come up and almost touch them. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the camera. This is what I managed to get.

Ma! I see birds!

We traveled into San Jose via Southwest Airlines....by far the best airline out there! Love the extra leg room, extra seat we got because of no reserved seating (Seb gets to fly free until 2), all you can eat snacks, and super friendly and funny flight attendants.

 Seb worked on his motor skills

Dug around for ancient artifacts under the plane seat

Ate some PLANE cookies-how do I rotate this photo??

Look mom! I ate them all!

 San Jose is an interesting city...full of tech companies that have "made it": Ebay, Apple, Intel, Google, Cisco, Yahoo, Broadcom and Sunpower (to name a few!).   Daddy had to work on Thurs and Friday so Seb and I took the rail into downtown San Jose. Yes! You read that right! We took some public transportation to the Children's Discovery Museum. Word to the wise, make sure to check out tickets for the rail BEFORE you actually arrive to the station. I got there thinking I could buy a ticket at the kiosk. Nope! They only took coins!!! Not even dollar bills nor was there an ATM in sight. So, I broke the law (since Seb is too young to realize that we were skipping on paying the fair, I thought it only proper to do it now before he realizes mom's swindling ways) and didn't buy a ticket to ride it!   Seb, if you are reading this, please not the sarcasm above. Please do not become a swindling shady business man. It will only get you so far.

Rail Station stop-super duper clean

This museum was Huuuuuuge! Aaaaand, I have an announcement to make: Seb had his first official....drum roll please....public tantrum there!  I wasn't sure whether he had had one before but there was no question about it. I definitely know the difference between a simple whine and a full blow tantrum now! Let me explain. He is absolutely fascinated by firetrucks (probably because of the time he got locked in the car and had to get rescued by 4 burly firemen that let him get up close and personal with their ride) and to my surprise there was one on display. The kids could even go in and pretend steer it. Seb was in there for a while and a line started to form. I told him we had to go and he was NOT letting go of the steering wheel. No way, no how! I had to pry his man hands from the wheel and immediately after doing so he lost it....I'm talking legs and arms flailing, high-pitched screaming and body thrashing kind of reaction.  I totally ignored it and he stopped with 15 seconds...bravo mom! But then, to my dismay I saw him running for another steering wheel...this time in the EMT truck! Hahah! Jokes on mom! Well, at least it made him stop seizing! This time, there was so many kids piled in the truck, he could only manage to squeeze behind a kid in the seat:

The trip continued with us driving to see little Dorothy and Seb's auntie Carolyn and uncle BJ. Baby Dot is still under strict orders to stay away from travelers so instead of hanging out at the house, we took a walk to the beach. Ahhhhh! The Monterey Beach.....Talk about some nice real estate. BJ and Carolyn live a few blocks away from it (Lucky duckys!) so we all decided that was the best outing for all of us to do.  It was lovely. Sweet Dorothy slept like a baby!  She's so precious but growing quickly!  We're so thankful that we both got some one on one time with Carolyn and Brandon each. We hope to continue our once a year tradition to see each other!

Monterey Beach with the cuz

Scuba!

A huge thanks to Brandon and Carolyn for hooking us up with season passes to check out the Monterey Aquarium (we felt SO VIP for being able to skip the massive line). Wow! Look at these fish!  This was so up close and personal!

"I'm gonna eat you!"

Wow!

Jellyfish!!  

More Jellyfish!

The vacation wrapped up on Monday. Daddy went to his convention and Seb and I hung out at the Happy Hollow (not Hippy Hollow!) zoo. He was amused by all the meerkats, jaguars, and capybaras (and mom learned a new word). Tuesday, Mom and Seb flew home alone on an almost completely booked flight. I had my distraction paraphernalia ready. Thanks to the tail winds, it was only a 3 hour flight. Seb passed out for about an hour. Oh! How I miss these snuggle times!!!

What an easy flight. My baby is the best traveler! I'm not biased!!!

Save me! Mama is coming in for a pic!