Early Anniversary Getaway

This is a big year for Travis and I -- we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in April! Crazy, I know. 

However since I'll be having a baby sometime in March we decided we'd like to celebrate before the little lady arrives. Luckily my mom was able to come out for a few days and Travis and I were able to make our escape up the coast. 

Our destination was Hearst Castle but on our way, we stopped in this cute little Danish town called Solvang and had some excellent pastries but not so great dinner (meatballs, red cabbage, mashed potatoes and pickled herring...ugh). We did enjoy window shopping and wandering around the little very Danish town.

 And here is Trav and I in front of Hearst Castle. It was so beautiful! We were able to tour most of the great rooms and then wander around the grounds as we liked, taking in the spectacular views and lovely gardens. Hearst imported tons of artwork and architectural elements from Europe for the house and grounds and it was a great treat to see all those amazing pieces.

One of our favorite spots had to be this incredible Neptune Pool. 

(In retrospect I don't think horizontal stripes are doing my pregnant belly any favors...)

  Can't you imagine throwing a party for you and your closest say...100 or so...friends here? Incredible.

Also gorgeous was the underground Roman Pool but my camera doesn't function well without a flash and they didn't allow that inside.

It was a beautiful tour and we were so happy to spend such a unique day together.

A friend had previously told us about a beach only a few miles north of Hearst Castle that is home to Elephant seals. So we decided to drive a bit up the PCH and stopped to see this impressive sight.

hundreds of seals hanging out on the beach! 

These animals are enormous. Like, HUGE. So big in fact that they'd do their little worm crawl for a few feet and then have to stop and take about a 5 minute rest before continuing on because they are just that big.

The males are quite territorial and we got to witness several impressive fights. Those guys are ruthless.  

We also saw lots of mamas with their babies. Awww

It was such a wonderful trip with lots of good food and plenty of time for Travis and I to just relax while the boys played with Grandma. 

Hopefully I'll be able to get some of their cute pictures together too :) Thanks again Mom for making it possible for us have such a wonderful weekend!