Three Years and Counting

I also wanted to be sure and write a quick note about the fact that we just got back last night from a really wonderful anniversary weekend. Tori had told me all along that she was going to surprise me for our anniversary and so on Thursday night we left in the evening and spent the first night with our friends Jim and Brittany in Santa Barbara. Then we woke up early the next morning and drove along Highway One and the coast was incredibly beautiful! We stopped for a picnic lunch at Hearst Castle -- Tori knows that one of my very favorite meals is cheese and crackers, salami, salmon, olives, grapes, etc. Then we went on a tour of Hearst Castle and it was really amazing, although Zadie slept through a large part of it. It was a great way to break up the drive, even though at this point I still had no idea where we were going.

So the big surprise was that Tori took me to the Chaminade hotel in Santa Cruz, where her friend Erin works. That was key because Erin (1) got us an amazing rate and 50% off all our food, and (2) babysat Zadie for us for TWO nights! I really love hotels and am always trying to convince Tori that we should stay in one, but we pretty much only travel to places where we don't have to pay for a hotel, so I think this was the very first time we've ever stayed in a hotel together (when we weren't on a family vacation, that is). It was really nice to have so much down time, to sleep in past 6am, etc. Tori even let me order a movie in the morning when we woke up, which is amazing since she generally only believes that movies should be watched when it's dark outside.

We did end up missing Zadie a lot -- but not enough to go get her from Erin. Thank you, Erin, for giving us such a wonderful weekend! The photos are all from our drive up along the coast.

I'm so impressed with Tori's planning and lack of cheapness. Way to go, Tori!!