Carrs go West ~ Monterey

Part 2 of our big trip!  

Monterey.  

We had many reasons to visit this special town.  To reminisce over the days Garrett was stationed here so many years ago .. before we were married.  Our long-distance relationship started here!  And the many friends we have living here right now.  A couple local families we met from those days Garrett lived here and stayed in touch with all this time, seeing each other whenever our paths were lucky enough to cross.  Plus, several Army friends that are currently stationed in and around the Monterey area.  

There is a saying that goes something like 'friends are the family you get to pick' and that is SO true.  And I think especially for a nomadic family like ours .... we don't live near our family family ... the friends we choose to allow and keep in our lives ... the 'village' we have pieced together to play a role in our kiddos lives we hold very dear.   And this part of our trip was to reconnect with some of those people.  Everyone we saw in Monterey has {and continues to} played a defining role in our life.  Whether it was influencing Garrett to be the future husband and father God meant him to be; or support during our first deployment as little more than newlyweds; or support during our last deployments with newborns and toddlers; friends who have laughed with us and cried with us.  {you know you've reached a special kind of friendship when you feel the others pain and joy like it was your own and have wept together ... and your're both older than 17.}

So, because Monterey is beautiful and needs no other reason than that to visit; AND because we have all these great friends temporarily living in the same spot, this summer was the right time to make the trip.  It was about a 500 mile drive from Las Vegas and surprisingly easy!  No traffic + few necessary stops = roughly 8 hours driving time.  We were on the road by 5am and in town by 1pm.  Just in time for lunch.  Our first stop was to Fisherman's Wharf to eat and soak in the refreshing salty sea air.   

Ok, so the air was refreshing but the water below .. not so much.  Those are seals basking in the sun and one of them dove in to swim circles below us ... and, well ...  did his business right there in the water!  Which, I guess, where else would they do it?  but Gavin was thoroughly disgusted, lol! 

After that we made our way to where we would be staying for the week.  Our dearest and closest friends, the Vanderlaans; Mike, Kassy, Rosie, and Grant.  I could go on and on about our history.  We've all been friends for over ten years now and if you're a regular blog reader you might remember them here and here just to point out a couple.

Anyways, it had been 2 YEARS since I last saw my bff and 3.5 YEARS since our entire families had been together!  Far to long.  Our kiddos have seen plenty of photos of one another and the occasional phone chat so of course it was like long lost loves when they finally all met in person!

Besides a sweet kids free double date night (why did I not get a photos of us four then!?) a big family outing was to Point Lobos.  A beautiful state park with plenty of trails, overlooks, and sea life.  Also, it was a place Garrett and I would explore during my many visits when he lived here.  

Group shots with the camera timer on a park bench ... always classic!

They found teeny tiny crabs out there :)

The rest of our time with the Vanderlaans was spent mostly at home soaking in the moments.

This life we love so much ... our Army life; exploring, adventuring, experiencing ... does come with its share of woe.  It's a hard thing ... not always being surrounded by family.  It will most likely be several years before we see the Vanderlaans again as they prepare for a big adventure of their own courtesy of the Air Force.  I feel so SO blessed and thankful that we had the opportunity to make memories with them this summer!