Quick escape to the coast

It's been a long time since we've escaped without the children, but this past weekend was perfect for it.  Triple digits at home versus 60s in Monterey?  Sold!

The drive there was an adventure.  There was an accident on 101 South so our chucklehead GPS thought we should off-road it.

Talk about anxiety!

We made it to our hotel and relaxed a bit, then headed to dinner at the Chart House, one of our favorite spots.  We had kimchi calamari, squid ink pasta, and mud pie.

There were pistachios in the mud pie!!

The next day brought more relaxing, capped off with dinner at Coastal Kitchen.  This one is pricey but worth it if you're a foodie.  It's a seven-course meal and they offer wine pairing for each course.

The menu

Oyster, goat cheese tart, tempura squash blossom

Dungeness crab soup with peas and leeks

Wild king salmon with tomatillo and Persian cucumber

Bread and butter that is classier than I am

Dry aged duck and taurine

This adorable little tea pot contained the jus that was poured over the above short rib

Basque style cheesecake (not my favorite)

About the only other thing we did worth mentioning is go to the Cannery Row Antique Mall, which is actually on Wave Street, one block over from Cannery Row.  Michael found an awesome book from the 70s with pictures of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges being built.  I discovered the first five Nancy Drew books for just $5, which made one little girl very happy.

All said, it was a wonderful weekend!  See you soon, Monterey!