Clearing

We were packed and on the road by 9:30 AM.  After a quick Starbucks stop, of course.  

 This was the B&B - Bridge Creek Inn.  It seriously reminded me of The Brady Bunch house.

J had never driven the famous Hwy 1, so we had to take it north!  We drove some serious winding, hairpin curving, deviously swerving roadways on this trip!

 This is what most of the trip looked like.  Which is sad because 3/4 of the reason for taking the 1 is to see the ocean.  However, I love fog.  I ooed & awwed over the way the hillsides and the fringed grasses looked in its muted light.  The dampened earth, the misting on the windshield, the cool tones - all of it made me feel cozy.

 So we sipped the java, drove slowly, and listened to a message about functional saviors from Tullian Tchividjian.  Not everybody's ideal maybe, but it was ours and it was fabulous.

 When we reached Big Sur we got out to let J stretch those long legs.  We climbed to the top of a cliffside (using stairs).  At the top was a restaurant and viewing deck.

the Phoenix.

Our lives have felt much like this lately.  Like we know there is something breathtaking beyond what we can see, but the clouds never quite roll out far enough for us to see it completely.  We are still enamored with the beauty we do see, but there is a longing for clarity.
At the end of this trip we do feel we see more than we ever have, but there are still wonderings.

We climbed back in the car and finished the drive to our hotel in Oakland.  We did some research and found a highly recommended Mexican place not too far from us, so after we unpacked and I repacked (for the plane - weight limits, you know) we jumped into our little Nissan Sentra and found Santo Coyote.  Yelp didn't lead us astray.

They had the vegan fare I wanted and the greasy gutbombs and Coke in a bottle for J!  I had Tostadas with extra guacamole and chips!  To die for!  Their salsa is one of my all time favorites - the only thing it lacked was enough heat to make my nose run.  :)

Now for a good nights sleep, a short plane ride, and returning to responsibility.  So good to get away.  So good to be together.
In the escaping, and now in the homecoming.