The abundant rain this year provided lush green plants, a few wildflowers & a plethora of poison oak.
The theme on this trip seemed to be awe and amazement. I saw it in Landon's eyes at the aquarium & again as we took in the beauty of God's creation around every twist & turn along that trail. In turn, I was in true amazement at Landon's patience & focus at the aquarium & his endurance on our over-five-mile hike. He never complained once.
Along the way I pointed out some of the "historical" spots that have significance to Chris & me. Highlands Inn peeking out among the trees where Chris & I went on our honeymoon almost 18 years ago. The spot along Highway 1 where Chris & I rode bikes and I thought for sure I was going get hit by a car & die only 2 days after getting married. The beach we sat on when we were on our 10 year anniversary trip.
Landon loved this little beach & finding hidden treasures in the rocky shoreline.
Of course, leaping off high boulders wasn't bad either.
One of the things Landon was looking forward to the most was our picnic lunch. I searched Yelp for places in Monterey that had gluten free bread so that we wouldn't have to leave Point Lobos to find lunch. Ike's Love & Sandwiches in Monterey seemed to have some of the highest ratings so we stopped on our way to the park & got some sandwiches.
We picked a bench with a great view of the water & enjoyed our sandwiches on what we both declared to be "the best gluten free rolls I have ever had". It was crusty french bread & tasted SO good! Too good. I should have known it was too good to be true. I had stomach issues for three days after eating that sandwich. There is a reason I cut gluten out of my diet five years ago. Not because of a fad. Not because I was trying to lose weight. Because my body can't handle gluten.
The seriousness is that, I may not know if I have celiac disease but we do know that Landon has celiac disease. He won't go into anaphylactic shock if he eats gluten, but it can be extremely detrimental to his health. I am extremely frustrated that my requests for gluten free bread were ignored. They weren't swamped with orders- Landon & I were the only two in the shop when we got there. I understand that accidents happen but I let the person taking our order know at least three times that we needed gluten free bread. I am realistic enough to know that restaurants can't guarantee no cross contamination but disregarding an allergy is unbelievably dangerous.
But enough about that.
During lunch a pod of dolphins swam back & forth in front of us, showing off their fins, tails & sometimes even leaping from the water. We took turns excitedly pointing them out to each other & both felt so privileged to see our own dolphin show!
After lunch Landon asked to take some pictures with my camera.
He got some great shots!
And even a couple of me!
Dear Landon,
Thank you for taking this trip with me. I'm glad you didn't think going on a road trip with your mom was too lame.
I had the BEST time with you. When it comes to people I like hanging out with, YOU are one of my favorites.
Some of my favorite memories from the trip are: laughing with you, singing along to great music, trying new foods, watching movies in hotel rooms, eating yummy road trip snacks, sleeping in, ROOM SERVICE, blasting music, ping pong, bat rays for days, Jamba Juice, alien octopus, sooooo many french fries, dolphins, escaping the loud kids on the trail, selfies, when we backtracked on the trail when we thought we were going the wrong way only to realize that we actually were going the right way, saltwater taffy, license plate game madness (random Hawaii for the win), and so many more.
I love you, bud. Thanks for the amazing memories.
Love always,
Mom
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