Happy Re-Anniversary Trip!

Taking advantage of the four-day weekend, Stace and I decided to steal away for a two-day trip up the coast on our own. What a fabulous time we had together, just a week or so after passing the eight-year mark of being together.

We weren't just recreating our days-before-Cora, we were recreating our ill-fated sixth anniversary trip to the same hotel in Carpinteria.

Those of you who know us well might have noticed my failure to mention our anniversary in September. We had made plans to spend two nights away (which would have been our longest trip yet without Cora), and then the morning sickness hit. We canceled one night, and tried to enjoy a one-night trip, but I was pretty sick for much of our little excursion. I think our biggest memory will be of Stace pulling over several times for me on our way home.

So, this time around, we really appreciated our time together. My family picked up Cora around 1 on Friday, and took her to Knott's Berry Farm for the day. We got on the road, and made it up to Santa Barbara by about 4. We did a bit of shopping among the throngs of Black Friday shoppers on State Street, got some dinner, and then watched a movie back in our room.

On Saturday morning, we headed down to the beach in Carpinteria, and then walked through the adorable downtown. We stumbled onto a Holiday Faire, with lots of vendors, live music and food. Such fun!

As much as I love hanging out with our daughter, it was great to walk along at our own pace (without stopping every few steps to hurry along a toddler), stopping in shops with breakable items we normally have to skip.

We then went back up to Santa Barbara. Stace got our bikes out of the back of the car, and we rode down to the wharf for lunch and then along the beach bike path.

It was just stunning in Santa Barbara, and in Carpinteria, and we truly enjoyed our time together on our own.

Cora was a good girl for Grandma and Grandpa; it's great that she's old enough to be away from us for an overnight trip. I do hope that when Ducky arrives, we don't let another two-plus years go by before we get away on our own again!