Smith Family Blog: June 2013

Monterey Firsts.....Tourists for now

To break up the monotony of unpacking (and child boredom.....) we took some time to explore our new surroundings! There is a lot to do, and nothing is very far away! Carmel and Pacific Grove are minutes South of us with many historical and nature things to do it seems.

Earlier this week we headed to Carmel for lunch, and did the "17 Mile Drive" through Pebble Beach to explore. It was about 90 minutes to drive the loop. It was gorgeous with many views and stops along the way to explore the coast. Many mansions and expensive homes to see too!

A little breezy by the water.....messy hair day :)

I think we were most amazed by the view at the stop with the Lone Cypress!

Dinner out on the water on Cannery Row

Monterey Aquarium!! We got our membership!!

Visited the Monterey Wharf with the kids one day!

The city treats military as locals and sells a $10/annual parking pass. So we park "free" in the wharf and downtown and aquarium lots all year. They hike up the prices on weekends for all the tourists.

Also told from neighbors and locals to always ask for the "LOCALS" menu. Much cheaper everyone says........we shall see! Kids loved looking at the Sea Lions and we made a stop at the candy store on the wharf for some take home treats!

We MOVED!!!

Just in case you missed it.......here is our new address in California

The Smiths

5013 Farragut Road

Monterey CA 93940

Guests welcome ANYTIME!! We downsized quite a bit into our 3 bedroom (1400sqft) townhouse, but the girls are enjoying sharing a room for the first time. So that leaves us with a guest room!

Company welcome anytime.....and if you prefer more private quarters during your stay, we live one block from the base Navy Lodge (hotel) which is in our subdivision, where we can sponsor guests if rooms are available ($77/night for 2 Queen Beds w/ kitchenette)

We are finally settled and unpacked....every LAST box!

We also splurged and got the bonus Monterey Aquarium membership.....so it comes with 2 permanent guest passes! So anyone who visits can come to the aquarium with us FREE!

So many fun things to do in this area!! See you soon!!

Move In--Monterey, California

In case I've never shared before what a move-in checklist looks like from the Navy.....

Here you go!! They label each box/item with a colored/numbered sticker. And as they pull it all off the truck, we have to account for it on the checklist! FUN!!! (not!!!)

Maddy was amused by all the packing paper. It was unbearable......so we unpacked fast!

In the meantime she thought it was fun to roll around in it from time to time. She'd come downstairs in the morning and announce "What?? More paper??" :)

The military housing facility has a wonderful community center. It has a workout room, a weight room, a few entertaining rooms for rent on a daily basis (free!!!), as well as a HUGE indoor pool and kiddie gated pool!! All free to housing residents.

The kids enjoyed sitting in the back alley behind the garage playing while Mike organized the garage!

Moving On......to California!!

After we moved out of VA.....the girls and I flew to California to sign the lease on our new place!

Then we made a quick weekend trip to Fairfield to visit family and relax a bit until Mike & Roxy completed their cross-country drive.

The kids LOVED playing together. We took them out for dinner & bowling on base where my cousin Erin lives. BLAST!!! They hadn't seen each other in almost a year, but they picked up right where they left off.