Girls Weekend in Carmel and Gilroy

Just got back from a pretty amazing weekend with my awesome Breakaway ladies who threw me quite the celebration!

We spent the first half of our trip in the lovely little beach city of Carmel, near Monterey. Their downtown neighborhoods and main plaza are great if you're looking to eat at a nice restaurant or do some shopping.  Here are the spots we visited:
-The Cheese Shop: If you appreciate cheese, this is a great place to go! They carry a good variety of cheese (from gouda to comte to manchego) that come from many different countries as well as by different milk types. They're very generous with letting customers sample their cheeses. There are also a ton of different specialty products to look at/ buy on their shelves.
-Salumeria Luca: Afterwards, we went to an Italian deli to sample and pick up some salami for later. This place is also a bakery - I saw quite a few delectable-looking pastries on display and panini options on their menu.
-Anthropologie: This Anthro is located on the second floor of Carmel Plaza and it's huge! As usual, it was fun to browse through the store, but the clothing (dresses) were much too expensive for me to even begin thinking about purchasing :P
-Janie & Jack: Adorable baby's / children's clothing - don't know much in this arena, so can't say much ;)
-Andre's Bouchee: For lunch, we went to a small French restaurant that really did remind me of my summer studying abroad in Paris.  I enjoyed everything I ordered there, including their dessert wine, French onion soup, and Croque Madame. This quaint restaurant is definitely very fitting for a girl's day out or a fancy date night.

After lunch, we drove about 20-25 minutes over to Kayak Connection at Moss Landing, which is just off Highway 1. We all decided to rent sit-in canoes (my first time!) to use during our 45-minutes out on the water (the place closes at 5:30PM and we arrived pretty late). After signing a release, you have to watch a video. Then you get to pick up a wet suit/dry suit/jacket and a life jacket. After a brief and basic paddle lesson, everyone gets sent off in their canoes out on Elkhorn Slough. Not far from the dock, we were able to see several different birds out on the water (even swimming birds), seals, and a good number of sea otters (so fun!!). I would totally recommend kayaking there, especially since the water is quite calm and there is plenty of wildlife to see at the reserve. The only thing I would make sure to do is to arrive earlier so you get to go further away and get more time on the kayak!

The rest of the trip, we stayed in Gilroy at the Fong's, which really was the perfect option for us! It was a ton of fun to come back to a giant colorful blanket fort that some of the girls had built in the living room! I loved how it was decorated with Christmas lights and lined with cushions/pillows, which made it feel so festive and cozy :) Anyway, other than the slumber party that took place back back at home, we went out to a nearby Chevy's for dinner and The Westside Grill for brunch the next day. They were both about 5 minutes away from the Fong's and it was nice to enjoy good food and company somewhere nearby with all my girls. It was a good reminder that you really don't need to go too far or fancy for a memorable dining experience. You can probably tell from one of the pictures above that I very much so enjoyed wearing my Chevy's sombrero (thanks Debs!) and drinking my green Pirate Punch.

I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with this truly unique group of girls. They seriously made me laugh so hard during the sleepover countless times and I was totally free to let loose and be my silly, crazy self. I am definitely feeling tremendously blessed by all the hilarious moments we were able to share and all the new Breakaway bachelorette memories that we were able to create together.