This sweet girl named Fatima let Ellis ride her trike at a park in SLO.
SLO
We have returned quite exhausted from a week in California. Scott had to work in San Luis Obispo for a few days, and Ellis and I were determined not to be left behind. I love the Central Coast and was eager to visit some old favorite spots and a few new ones.
On Saturday we flew into LA and drove up to Santa Barbara for a 24-hour stay that included strolling through downtown (fortunately Peets Coffee opens at 6am on Sundays), a hike in the mountains, and a stop at awesome Los Agaves with my friends Alex and Whitney, in town to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Scott and I even had a romantic dinner at the restaurant attached to the Upham Inn, close enough to our room that the baby monitor could dine with us. (Hopefully E’s 2AM wailing won’t prompt the inn to change their friendly child policy. It can be hard to find a B&B that allows kids - perhaps because they wake everyone up in the middle of the night. If you visit the Upham, please tell them the horrible people with the baby sent you.)
Then E and I were on our own in SLO for a few days while Scott was working. We drove up to Cambria to have lunch at Robin’s, hiked in an ancient live oak forest, played in the sand near Morro Bay, and stopped at Cayucos, where E napped in the stroller while I sampled cookies at the Brown Butter Cookie Company and wine at Cayucos Cellars. And that was just Monday!
We spent the rest of our time swimming in the hotel hot tub, checking out the playgrounds and children’s museum in SLO, visiting Avila Beach with its excellent playground and coffee shop, eating (twice) at Big Sky Cafe (which has a great kid’s menu), and consuming some obligatory fish tacos (personally I like Rubio’s, which also has a surprisingly good kid’s menu).
It was a nice trip, well worth two four-hour plane rides with our squirmy clambering toddler.
Bath, retro-style.
It’s been a long week…
Ellis is obsessed with cars and bikes, much like his papa. His babysitter loaned him this little red convertible, and he is thrilled.
I wonder if he and Scott will continue to share those interests as he gets older. He won’t have to ask twice for a bike, but he’ll have to negotiate for garage space. And his dad prefers the old cars, so don’t be surprised to see a teenage Ellis tooling around in a Volvo wagon older than his mother.
My little cutie this morning.
A beautiful May morning at Montrose Beach. E got sleepy on the ride home.
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Ellis is too big for his jumper, but Andy still enjoys it.
