Sayulita, Mexico

 I don't know if you remember, but back in January of this year, we had a bit of a mishap with a canceled flight out of Cancun. Well, we got some Southwest vouchers out of it that was about to expire, so we ended up booking a return flight to Mexico - to Puerto Vallarta this time! 

The nonstops options are different here in California, so we figured we should take the opportunity to visit somewhere new. We had heard great things about Sayulita, Mexico, so we took a quick nonstop and a quick $20 Uber and we arrived at our home for the next 4 days!

Sayulita is such a magical little town. It's basically one main loop, a town square, and a beach. We explored all over, but both agree that we'll be back to check out more restaurants next time around! On our first afternoon, we stopped in a Mary's for guacamole and fajitas before walking to the beach. 

Everything was SO cheap here - a perfect example is the gigantic slices of tres leches and banana cakes we got from the cake lady in the square for 20 pesos each (less than $1). The two beers were 25 pesos. Our favorite tacos were 35 pesos each.

The next day we went on our tour with AllyCat Adventures to the Marietas Islands. It was such a fun and relaxing day out on the water - we got to snorkel, paddleboard (we're pros now!), see blue-footed boobies, and maybe renew our vows? I'm not exactly sure! I don't remember telling them we recently had an anniversary, but they definitely made sure we were celebrated. Tons of fun and couldn't recommend this tour/company more!

That evening, we followed the sound of fireworks into the square. There were fiestas celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, so this meant fireworks every morning at 5am as a call to mass and again around 7:30pm as a call to MORE mass. We were told to make sure we saw the "toritos" - which we came to find out is essentially grown men wearing a bull frame wired with fireworks and chasing little kids. HA!

We had the BEST meal of our trip at Burrito Revolution. The shrimp tacos were honestly the best I've had in my entire life. The staff was tons of fun and the signs were super amusing (see below).

The next morning, we went to the beach. I took it easy and read a book a day and Jason learned to surf! We spent the rest of the day at a beach club drinking $1 beers and eating ceviche and guacamole. Total bill for 8 hours? Less than $30. 

 

This evening, we did a tour of the street cart tacos! We went to a total of 3 and really enjoyed them all! My favorite was an al pastor taco and Jason's was a fried shrimp one. Add in some beers from the corner store and we feasted like kings for about $10!

On our last morning, we went to the beach again. We made some dog friends and just soaked in the sun for a bit longer. The water here literally was flecked with gold dust, I swear! I had to grab a chocobanana (a perfect cold treat for a hot day) before we left as well.

We couldn't leave without having our favorite taco again, so we went back to Burrito Revolution. This time, we got to meet the owner, who sat down and chatted with us for an hour. All the while, giving us free tequila. He was sure a character and it was a perfect end to our time in Mexico!

Sayulita was a PERFECT quick getaway! 

Up Next: Not much for a while beyond some quick day trips, but we're loving exploring Northern California so much.

A Long Weekend in Carmel, CA

For our 9th anniversary, we booked a three night stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea over Thanksgiving. We watched a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then made the quick hour and 1/2 drive! We grabbed some picnic food at Whole Foods (which was understandably nuts) and headed straight to the beach.

Indy ran around chasing his ball for a bit and we walked up and down the beach. It was really beautiful day and there were lots of families out enjoying the holiday. At the end of the beach is actually part of the Pebble Beach golf course - where Jason would return the next day!

Wanting to take advantage of the great weather, we decided to drive the "17 mile drive" around the Monterey Peninsula. You do have to pay admission to get access, but it was totally worth the $10 fee. 

Some of the famous sights are the golf courses (Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Spanish Bay), the Lone Cypress, and all of the beautiful stretches of coastline. Dogs allowed on a leash!

That evening we checked into our hotel (Tradewinds Carmel) and headed back to the beach to catch sunset. We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Casanova restaurant which was such a perfect little spot! 

The next morning, Jason was able to play Pebble Beach! He described it as something he'd always remember - just a fantastic course and experience. He had some rain along the way, but I don't think he let it dampen his enthusiasm (ha, pun intended).

Once he got back, we grabbed a quick lunch and walked around the town. We checked out a few (dog-friendly) tasting rooms including Silvestri, Dawn's Dream, and Albatross. It was a nice afternoon - perfectly suited to the weather as well. A bit gloomy!

That night, we grabbed dinner from Carmel Bakery and made our way back to the room.

The next morning, we had breakfast and made the quick 10 minute drive out to Carmel Valley. We had lunch and a wine tasting at Folktale winery. We enjoyed this place, but the pours were pretty small - it would be so fun to grab a bottle to enjoy outside though!

We also went to Joyce winery (which was probably our favorite) and De Tierra winery back in Carmel. That evening we watched the ridiculously epic (ally long) A&M v LSU game before grabbing dinner at a pub in Carmel.

Our last morning, we had to leave Indy in our room for a while. Unfortunately, Point Lobos is a State Natural Reserve and these typically don't allow dogs. We spent about 3 hours walking all around the reserve - walking down to beaches, seeing bird islands, standing next to gigantic Cypress trees! We would love to return - we had a fabulous time!

Our last stop of the trip was to grab lunch on the Monterey Old Fisherman's Wharf at LouLou's Griddle in the Middle on the way home. I had some yummy clam chowder in a bread bowl and Jason had grilled cheese. Classic diner food!

We didn't check out the aquarium on this trip - mainly because of the price. I had been ages ago and loved it though, so I'm sure we'll suck it up and pay the $50/person some time!

This trip was much needed as Jason had been working some pretty long hours for a while. It was nice to reconnect and visit such a beautiful place together as a family. Hard to believe it's only an hour 1/2 away from us - we've already planned a return trip!

Next up: We're heading to Sayulita, Mexico for a few days this weekend!