California Vacation 2013

3 of our last four vacations have been to California. (The 4th was Vegas last year at Easter.) This was more of a trip to see people than a vacation because we didn't really see anything new, just hung out in a different state with my family. So, taking a page from Alison's blog, here's a rundown.

Stayed: Hilton Garden Inn, Mountain View - It was expensive because of graduation weekend. Probably the most $ we've ever spent on a hotel stay. But we did get a combination cooked-to-order and buffet breakfast every morning. (Except for the morning we were exhausted and slept through it.) It was clean and even though it's mostly a business hotel, we didn't feel completely out of place with a baby. The crib was functional, but not great. It had a bumper on it to soften the metal bars, but we took that off and let him take his chances with the metal bars. (He was fine.) I asked for an extra washcloth when I walked by the cart in the hallway on our first day so that I could lay out the bottles after I washed them. After that, she always left an extra next to our pile of bottles. Nice touch. It had a fridge which was helpful with the bottles and they let us use their freezer to freeze our ice packs for the flight home. There was a heated pool but we didn't get to use it. I liked that we had a chair with an ottoman and a ergonomic desk chair. Supposedly the bed had a dial for the firmness but we never figured that out.

Ate:
In & Out - Mike had an actual meal but I just had fries because it was late and I was tired and not that hungry. People rave about this burger chain, but I've never been impressed. I'm not a fan of fast food burgers, they don't have chicken strips (my fast food go-to), and their fries are just ok. But even my brother who is a healthy and/or fancy eater loves this place.

Pepples Donuts - Mike's favorite junk food on the planet. Although I don't know if you can call a vegan, organic donut junk food. He likes "green tea" and lots of other random flavors.

Boudin Bakery, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco - Since we had a huge breakfast, I just had a "turtle bread" for lunch. (It's sourdough bread, shaped like a turtle. Adorable and overpriced - perfect for vacation!) :) The rest of them got takeout crab cocktail and calamari from the seafood stands in the wharf.

Tied House, Mountain View - A microbrewery in cutesy downtown Mountain View. I had the brisket sandwich. It was heavenly. Best I've had in a long time.

Lobster Shack, Portola Valley - A little tiny place in an out of the way strip shopping center with food ranging from brisket or tri tip sandwiches (me) to lobster salad sandwiches (with or without mayo dressing - you can just get lobster on a roll) and whole lobster dinners. I liked mine ok, but with baby timing this was my turn to eat cold dinner so I probably would have enjoyed it more hot. That's life! They did have fancy local organic (?) soda, so I had some great root beer.

Red, Santa Cruz - Like many of the restaurants that the guys chose on this vacation, this decision was driven by the beer selection. :) Also, they have famous mac & cheese. I had a really good burger. Luckily my turn with the fussy baby time aligned with being done with my meal this time!

Pampas, Palo Alto - My parents got a gift card to this "Fogo de Chao" style restaurant from a bunch of my brother's friends after they hosted the group of bikers for the Tucson bike race. We were excited to help them spend it. While it was slightly disappointing to not have the gluttony Fogo experience at lunch, the food was all great and we all left stuffed - so we didn't miss anything in the all-you-can-eat style that you can have at dinner. And we paid half price for lunch. :)

Philz, Palo Alto - This coffee place makes coffee one cup at a time! The whole menu is various beans. That's it. Your only choices are small/large and whether to have them add cream or sugar. Usually I like to add my own cream, but they did a good job and it was frothy. I even had 4 choices of decaf beans to choose from! I just ordered one style, but I later heard people ordering combos of different beans. I'll totally try that if I ever come across this style of coffee shop again.

The Fish Market, Palo Alto - Instead of the steak I usually get at seafood restaurants, I had a chicken caesar salad. It was fine, typical of that meal. The croutons were great and I liked that there were lots of them! Luckily our meals came slightly staggered because we took turns holding the baby. BEST BARGAIN OF THE WEEKEND - Dessert - 6 chocolate covered strawberries for just $6.

Interesting Fact: Not a single place we ate in CA had the type of high chair that flips over to hold the car seat - so he had to either sit on the floor out of sight which he doesn't like, or sit in our laps, which works only for awhile. Also, not a single place we ate had a baby changing station in the bathroom. Are these just Maryland things?

Saw/Did: Santa Cruz Beach quickly ... they have rides and a boardwalk that we've driven by on both of our visits but haven't visited. We were going to walk around town but it closed at 8, which surprised us since it was weekend and summer. We also tried to walk around Half Moon Bay, but it closed at 5:30 on Monday. Thwarted again!! :) We walked the embarcadero in SF from end to end and back the first day and saw an America's Cup sailboat racing around in the bay. RACING. The helicopter and speedboats were keeping up, but it was taking effort for those motorboats to keep pace. Spent Sunday at my brother's graduation. Long day, but they took care of us. Bottled water, cookies, trail mix, fruit, and then lots of food and champagne!

Drove: Fox Rental Car - Our go-to small chain when we're on the west coast. Always beats the big guys prices.