Monterey - more than OK

Our big vacation this year was to visit my cousin and her two sweet children. We took my mother and met up with "the cousins" and my uncle in Monterey and had the best time. They had a spot very close to the beach so JJ got to run and twirl on the sand, visit the Monterey aquarium (3 YO is good for about 1.5 hours of THAT) and best of all there was a SWIMMING POOL. Aquarium - obligatory shot! Um - are you sure I want to touch it? JJ has not yet learned to swim, and had a not so ideal set of swim lessons, so I started to introduce her to some basic feet kicking and bouncing up and down - and she loved it. After the first time she asked for it constantly. We got to picnic at Point Lobos (one of the prettiest areas in the world) and take the famous 17 mile drive (did you know that golf at Pebble Beach is $495/round. We looked but did not touch!) The Hike back from the Beach As a special treat she got to sleep with Mom in the big bed. This was a big deal - she loved it, I was sleep deprived. JJ still shifts a LOT in her sleep. I finally put a pillow between us to buffer the kicking! It was all great - except for that part about driving a very active 3 YO for 10 hours to get home. That was a memorable experience, but not really in a good way.