Vacation part 2

Since Lucie passed out 10 minutes after we left Roaring Camp - and Brennan was soon to follow - we put off lunch and pushed on through until we reached the Corkscrew Cafe in Carmel Valley.  Which is where I wanted to eat anyway - my girlfriends & I had a lovely lunch there last year on our way to Big Sur.  Weirdly, we even sat at the same table.  Or maybe not that weirdly, since on both trips I was with a group that had the potential to be rowdy and annoy the other patrons, so a table off to the side was best.

Then it was off to our home for the weekend - the Carmel Valley Ranch.  It's certainly a special occasion kind of joint, with lots of amenities, like a big swimming pool:
 

Chocolate-covered strawberries (Lucie called them "apples") & sparkling wine delivered to our suite, in honor of Daddy's birthday - because what man wouldn't like a romance-novel treat for his 40th?

A SUPER-FUN SPLASH ZONE!!!  (Complete with 1 foot deep baby pool, allowing one to sit on a lounge chair and not be on constant alert for drowning.)

Nightly s'mores at the the poolside firepit - Brennan didn't get sticky at all.

Old-timey tree swings:

But the biggest hit by far was the hide-a-bed.  Housekeeping set it up while we were having dinner at the main lodge and Brennan was floored that the couch had turned into a bed.  I can't remember a time that prospect of sleeping on a fold-out bed made me excited, but he said, "I love my bed!  I love it, I love it!"

Of course, the big TV and multiple episodes of Clifford were pretty cool, too.

He loved the fountain at the main lodge and bugged us for pennies every time.  Not that he's wishing for anything, he just likes throwing pennies in the water.

The resort covers a lot of ground - there's a golf course, tennis, trails, a vegetable garden, lavender fields, beehives, the requisite wedding area, resident deer and turkeys (turkeys?  turkey? what's the plural of turkey?) - so there was also ample opportunity for running...

...and running...

For Mommy & Daddy, there were the many tasting rooms clustered together on the main drag in town, & good food at the resort and at our favorite restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, La Bicyclette.  And happy, significantly less whiney kids.

And everyone liked the sunshine - of course, the Central Coast gets foggy, too, but every morning around 10:00, blue sky would start to peak out, and by lunchtime it was summer again.  Lucie even got to walk barefoot in the grass-

As much as Mommy would have liked to stay there forever, checking out all the stables lining Carmel Valley Road, soaking in the adults-only infinity hot pool, and pretending she was the sort of person who could afford an extended stay at a fancy resort, Sunday afternoon was fast approaching.  Also, Brennan missed his train set.  We had a last quick "swim" at the splash zone, loaded up on fresh popcorn - they appeared to be having some sort of membership drive down at the pool & tennis area - and headed for home.  Bye for now, Carmel & Santa Cruz - hope to see you again soon!