Ode to Monterey

Photo by Christine B Photography

Two years has passed by in the blink of an eye. I arrived to Monterey June 22, 2017 kicking and screaming. Leaving our home and my business in Florida was so hard for me! Little did I know that our life would be turned upside and I would find out I was pregnant a few days later while we were still living in a hotel!

Oh Monterey, where do I even start?! We've seriously had a love-hate relationship since day one. If the sun is out and it is remotely warm (60s), I will love you all day. But, the fog, mist, gloom all day, everyday (especially in the summer months) was just miserable!

I quickly realized that we weren't in the south anymore when Kyle and I unsuccessfully tried multiple BBQ restaurants throughout California and not one delivered. Their version of BBQ is tri-tip and it just isn't good! Or when I tried California's version of "shrimp and grits" only to be horribly disappointed. Monterey did bring some amazing food into our lives including Monterey Donuts, Dametra Mediterranean, Mission Ranch, Baldemiro's Taco Shop (hole in the wall taco shop and amazing carne asada fries), Tarpy's, Michael's Tacqueria, Crystalfish Sushi, Krua Thai, Il Vecchio, Saltwood Kitchen (thank you for having fried chicken and cheddar biscuits!!) just to name a few.

We traveled to some amazing places including Disneyland, Paso Robles, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Napa/Sonoma, San Francisco/Sausalito, Solvang, Yosemite and L.A. I am so grateful that we were able to fully embrace our time on the west coast and see SO many places. I can't wait to show our kids all of the adventures and all the places they went!

We met some incredible people and lifelong friends. As I write this, many of our friends have moved on to their next duty station. I am constantly picking up my phone ready to text friends to make plans only to remind myself that they aren't here anymore. Our friends became family here and they definitely MADE our time in Monterey what it was. I truly think I wouldn't love this place so much if it wasn't for the wonderful people that we got to experience Monterey with.

I joined an amazing brokerage and opened the cutest real estate office you have ever seen. I grew a client base and started receiving referrals from friends and locals and my business took off. There is nothing more amazing than when you have friends referring you.

We attended an amazing church, Shoreline, and hosted a growth group. I also led a MOPS group with a fellow military spouse. Some weeks I was at church every day of the week, but it was such a joy and I am SO incredibly blessed by all the people I met through Shoreline.

Charlotte started formal education with Pre-K at Santa Catalina and we spent the last 7 months living on campus at her school. I honestly don't know if we will ever experience a more beautiful place or more lovely, kind people. The school was such a blessing for our family.

Huxie attend La Mesa CDC and we were so blessed by his teachers in the Bubblefish and Shrimps class. He loved going to "school" and has so much fun with his little friends.

When I try to think of what I will miss most, I can't even begin, but here is a snapshot. I hope this will remind me in years to come of this sweet, but tiring, season of life with two small kids.

• Walks on the Monterey Rec Trail. 
• Afternoons after school/daycare at MyMuseum (we shut the place down on multiple occasions). 
• Weekends at Folktale Winery with friends (thank you for having pimento cheese). 
• Usually followed by dinner at Baja Cantina. 
• Finding Monty, the sea otter, at Trader Joe's. Although Charlotte preferred the Pacific Grove TJ's which included mini carts for the kids. 
• Impromptu dinners at the Trident Room on campus at NPS. 
• Tacos at church during Night of Worship. 
• Working in a beautiful office in the heart of Pacific Grove. 
• Driving through McDonald's for my daily Diet Coke (complete with a paper straw...AHH)
• Dinners with visitors at Mission Ranch, one of our favorite places. 
• Giving birth to Huxie at CHOMP and all that followed with that. My faith is stronger because of those circumstances for sure.
• Spa escapades with friends. We visited over six local spas and became experts of mommy relaxation. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Bernardus. 
• Kyle's weekly workouts (and every Saturday at 7am) with the men of F3 and forged amazing relationships! 
• Escaping to beautiful Carmel Valley for the sunshine and beautiful wineries.
• Kyle's weekly trip to Poke Time, which I also went kicking and screaming!
• Monterey Farmer's Market on Tuesday nights. 
• Getting to attend the AT&T Pro-Am and the US Open. 
• Amazing shows through PacRep at the Golden Bough and Forest Theater. I am so BUMMED we are missing Beauty and the Beast next month 
• Trips to the outlets in Gilroy because the shopping in Monterey was severely lacking! 

And I'll leave you with this - an article I wrote six months into our time in Monterey. Who would have ever thought I would have been sad to leave! The truth is, I am, but I am so grateful for our time here and all that I learned from this special place.