Mom & Dad's September Visit to LA! Part 1.

My parent's came to visit me in Los Angeles for a week and just left last week Wednesday.  We're always kept so busy when they're hanging out with me here in LA, and this week was no different!

We made it to Carmel!

They flew in on Wednesday and came to Karaoke with me that night, so it was nice to have them there and see me doing my thing while Hosting Karaoke.  Then on Thursday they were able to head down to Long Beach/San Pedro to check out the USS Iowa Battleship and take a tour before I had to work at Irish Times that afternoon.  My Mom always loves to help me set the bar up so we got the bar ready for business and they relaxed while tasting some of our new beers.  No Irish Times visit would be complete without some traditional Irish fare, plus it was Thursday night Football!  That night we grabbed some Yogurtland on the way home and then had a little Game Night before getting to bed since we had an early morning that next day.

We drove to Carmel on Friday to spend the next two days with my cousin Sean, who is currently living there with his wife, Amanda and two children while he and Amanda learn Japanese since they'll be stationed in Japan come next year.  Little Olivia who is six is also taking Japanese classes, is one of the smartest little girls I've ever met, and her younger sister, Dru is four, and so adorable!  I could not get enough of them all weekend!

On Saturday Mom, Dad, Sean, Dru, and I went for a hike at Point Lobos.  It was so beautiful and scenic.  Once you hiked through the woods you got to the waterline and cliffs and it was just such an insane view.  The weather was perfect and we even got to see seals!  The hike was fun and after grabbing Lunch we went to this huge park where we played with the girls, once Olivia joined us, and spent the afternoon on the swing sets, slides and monkey bars.  If the hike hadn't tired us out, this certainly did ;)

Hiking at Point Lobos with Dru :)

That night we went to Dinner at Mission Ranch, which is where my Mom, Dad, and I went to about a year and a half ago when they were visiting.  There was no Clint Eastwood sighting that night, because it was a weekend night, pretty busy, and there was also a Wedding going on.  The girls loved the sheep out in the field and were so patient during Dinner.  The food was awesome and I got the Shrimp Fettucine since I knew once Mom and Dad headed back to LA with me, I was surprising them on Tuesday with a nice Dinner so I was saving the steak for that night!  It was a really good meal and awesome to get to spend some time with Sean and Amanda as well as see a little more of Carmel and Monterey. 

Dinner & Drinks at Mission Ranch in Carmel with Mom & Dad!

We all went to Church together on Sunday morning and after all the hugs goodbye, Mom, Dad, and I were on our way to Solvang to do some Wine Tasting!  More on Mom & Dad's visit in Part 2!

We missed Clint by an hour!

After a week filled with work I finally had a couple days off so my parents and I made the drive up to Carmel (which is near Monterey and about 2 hours south of San Francisco).  The main reason for our visit was because my Dad wanted to eat Dinner at Clint Eastwood's restaurant, so with a 5 hour drive ahead of me, we started the trek.

Let me start by saying I gave up Soda, Candy, and Fast Food for Lent, and of course, when you're on a road trip, all that you can really eat if you're stopping quickly is fast food, so while my parents ate their delicious smelling breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's that morning, I sipped my Chai Tea from Starbucks and pouted.  Our first stop was just beyond Santa Barbara at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, because my Mom wanted to gamble some money away.  I ended up getting $50 in Free Play because of my 90066 zip code, and actually won $60 at the end of the day, so I came up ahead!  After our quick 90 minute excursion we were back on the road taking the scenic 101 the entire way to Carmel.  Once we got close, the sun disappeared and a cloudy marine layer appeared as we made our way to the Bay View Inn in Carmel.

We got to The Mission just after 7 pm and had a cocktail at the bar while we waited for our table.  We got seated about 20 minutes later and after ordering and talking to our waiter, found out Clint came in after 6 pm stayed for a little bit and then left.  He had also come by that afternoon for a little bit and our waiter told us sometimes even pops in later at night before the bar closes down.  I know we were all a little bummed we missed him by less than an hour but were still really impressed that he was even in the area when we were.  Our goat cheese appetizer was great but I wasn't all that excited about my steak until I got my hands on some horseradish that kicked it up a bit.  Unfortunately, Mom thought it was coleslaw, so she took a hearty bite and had a nice surprise.  The asparagus was perfect and my favorite part of the meal aside from my awesome Pinot Noir I switched to from my Hendrick's Gin drink at the bar.  We couldn't end Dinner without getting the Chocolate Cake so I got some Sambuca and enjoyed my aperitif and 3 espresso beans.

Dinner at Mission Ranch in Carmel

Before the night was over we sat back at the bar to have some after-dinner Drinks and even got Mom a Brandy Alexander that was delicious!  The piano player had been playing all evening and at this point, people were getting up to sing with her, so I asked if she knew 'Baby Love,' she said she did, and 15 minutes later I was singing to all the Regulars around the piano, a few of which who gave me some dirty looks for invading their Sunday Night territory, but it's all in fun, right!  The piano player asked me to sing again so later on I did 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac and then we all called it a night and made our way back to the Hotel.

Pacific Ocean

The next morning we walked downtown for a little bit, bought some fun gifts and then made our way to the ocean.  It was about 20 degrees cooler in Carmel and quite windy but it was beautiful to see the ocean, trees, and houses.  I wanted to take a different route on the way back to LA so Dad drove the first part and we cut over on the 198 near Coalinga and what a drive that was!  It was winding turns, narrow roads, fallen rock, and more cows than I could count, but it was awesome.  I took over once we got to town and I had my Bagel from Starbucks while Dad enjoyed his Whopper with Cheese and Mom got her Ice Cream Cone...way to rub it in my face, Guys!  The rest of the drive on the 5 felt quick because it was mostly farmland, tons of fruit trees, and some major mountain driving before getting into Santa Clarita but neat to take a different route on the way home.

The entire week with my family was awesome and taking the road trip with them was the icing on the cake.  We had so much fun, did so many different activities and kept busy!  I was so glad to have them out here spending time with me and can't wait to see them again soon :)