June has been busy, exciting and fun so far; the first week my dad came to visit, and Rich wrapped up his year in the biodesign program.
The first few days were extra busy as he prepared for his final team presentation and applied to a business competition - and he was honored to be selected to speak on behalf of all the fellows at graduation. He spent a lot of time working on his 3 minute (I think it ended up being closer to 4 minutes) speech and he did a great job, even though he was being blinded by the setting sun while speaking!
Monday night June 6th were the biodesign final presentations at 4 pm so I got to watch those, and Dad got into town, which was great timing since he picked up Valerie from school so I didn't have to leave early, and I got to stay for the reception with champagne, appetizers and desserts.
Graduation was a beautiful event on the Stanford campus the next night, June 7th. It took place on the lawn near the Clark Center with various seating arrangements, umbrellas, an open bar and a great assortment of catered foods, including a giant pizza oven for freshly made pizzas. There were also noodles, banh mi, quinoa, tacos al pastor, and a dessert table with huge, ripe strawberries, macarons, fancy caramel nut popcorn, and flourless chocolate tortes.
I thought it was interesting that they didn't have rows of chairs set up, so a lot of people stood for the speeches. I grabbed a seat toward the front so I could videotape Rich's speech and I liked the casual setup, but I'm not sure how the people who were left standing felt about it.
Valerie's favorite things were the pink macarons and the giant soft pretzels - she ate two of them! She was cracking me up during the speeches as she clapped along with the rest of the crowd each time they clapped. It made me aware of how easy it is to follow basic social cues without having a clue as to what's going on in these types of situations.
It could not have been more perfect weather for the evening program. Clear and sunny, warm at first but cool as the sun went down, and just gorgeous. After graduation most of the fellows went to the Rosewood for one last celebration - always a classy spot for a well mixed cocktail.
We were extra grateful that my dad was in town and took Valerie home for bed so we could stay out celebrating. It's always so wonderful having him stay.
We decided to take advantage of the next three days off by going down to Monterey and Big Sur. What an incredibly beautiful area. Rich said as we drove along 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach that California just might be the most beautiful of the 50 states after all, and I had to agree. The stretch of coastline as you drive down Highway 1 between Monterey and Big Sur is just breathtaking. The deep blue sky and aqua ocean water, the rocky cliffs and stretches of golden sand... just wow.
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| Bixby Bridge |
We brought Valerie with us and Dad came to join us for the first night and second day, and then Dad took her back home with him so we could enjoy two more nights just the two of us. Because we are the luckiest, luckiest bastards in the world. We drove along 17-mile drive first just the three of us, and my absolute favorite spot was the beach at Spanish Bay. I could have stayed there forever. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny but not too hot, and we chased the surf and wished time would stop for a while. We spent a couple hours doing that drive and then met up with Dad at the hotel.
We stayed at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey since we found a great weeknight deal and really loved our stay there. The location is central to the attractions in Monterey (the fisherman's wharf and downtown). We ate dinner at Jack's restaurant inside the hotel and walked around exploring. Valerie loved chasing the pigeons at the wharf.
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| Rich stopped to taste all the chowder samples on the wharf |
The next morning Dad discovered a problem with his car and he took it to a dealership to get fixed while we went for a short hike at Point Lobos. Fortunately it turned out to be a problem with a part that the dealership fixed quickly and for free, so dad was back in time for lunch at Hula's Island Grill, which yelp promised would be delicious. After lunch we walked around a little more and then Dad and Valerie headed out to get back to Palo Alto before dark.
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| We saw TONS of poison oak at Point Lobos and are glad we can now identify it. |
We were pretty full from our late afternoon lunch at Hula's so we decided to have a late dinner, and foolishly waited until just about every restaurant in Monterey had closed for the night before we ventured out to get food. Our first stop was for cocktails at a bar where the kitchen had closed, but they generously brought us a loaf of bread with olive oil which we gratefully scarfed. We then made our way to the Crown & Anchor, a hopping British pub which was still serving food around midnight. I had filled up on bread and decided we should just get dessert with another round of drinks, which turned out to be a fantastic decision. I had a sticky toffee pudding that I swam laps in and still dream about.
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| I wish I got pictures of the crepes before we inhaled them |
The next day was our big day to see Big Sur and we woke up and had crepes at Crepes of Brittany which were to die for. We shared a savory smoked salmon crepe and a nutella dessert crepe and I cannot wait to go back and get all of the crepes. Legendary.
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| hiking Andrew Molera |
We drove down to Big Sur which as I mentioned before was an amazing, gorgeous drive down the California coast. We had to stop at Bixby Bridge for a couple photos. We then went for a hike along the Andrew Molera trail along coastal cliffs to some remote beaches, which included wading through an ice cold creek at the beginning and end. We also stopped at Pfeiffer Beach which we regretted because the super high winds blasted us mercilessly with sand until we couldn't stand it and quickly had to leave. We stopped at Rocky Point Restaurant on Highway 1 on our way back to Monterey for a delicious late-midday meal with some of the most stunning views ever. The food and cocktails were also beautifully presented and delicious. I can't wait to go back.
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| the view at Rocky Point |
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| chocolate mousse happy place |
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| delicious beet salad at Rocky Point |
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| Rocky Point Restaurant |
We once again had a super-late dinner and this time we decided we had to try one of the restaurants on the wharf - Domenico's on the Wharf. They very kindly accommodated our late asses when we arrived in the last 30 minutes before they closed and did not rush us at all. It was a lovely and romantic evening and there is not a whole lot of nightlife to be found in Monterey during the week so we headed back to the hotel after dinner for our last night.
Our last morning we drove down to Carmel-by-the-sea which was just as lovely as I had heard, with a beautiful beach and lots of cute shops and cafes. We wandered around and shared a cannoli which sadly looked way better than it tasted, and then it was time to head back home.
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| Carmel-by-the-sea |
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| disappointing cannoli |
It was an amazing little getaway to celebrate the end of biodesign and kick off the summer, and definitely one of our favorite places in California just a 1-2 hour drive away.
