Half Moon Bay

Our wonderful vacation continued when we got to Half Moon Bay Thursday afternoon.  Upon check-in at the Ritz, we were given a glass of wine and a goodie basket.  The views from our room were amazing!!

Matt enjoyed my glass too ;)

After settling in, we went downstairs to the reception for our team.  It was great to see all the familiar faces and we had a wonderful time eating, drinking, and then roasting smores by the outside fire pit.  It was a BIG celebration in honor of a great 2011!!

 

 

 

Mattt and Brittney cracking me up while trying to make smores!!

When we got back to our room, we had a welcome present waiting for us...Patagonia jackets!!  It was a good thing too because it never got above 60 degrees out there.

Our first night at the Ritz was wonderful!!  Friday morning, our team headed to the Redwood Forests for a hike/tour.  Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch in Pescadero at Duarte's.

Enjoying my Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast :)

Brittney, Me, and Steph

After our hike and lunch, Matt and I headed back to the hotel to walk around the grounds.  We got a drink and sat outside on the patio, enjoyed the sunshine, and took lots of pictures.

After a nap, we headed down to meet everyone for dinner at Miramar Beach. 

Saturday, we slept in and had a VERY LAZY DAY!  We started with breakfast in the formal dining room of the Ritz with a great view of the ocean.  Afterwards, Matt went to the gym while I headed down to the spa for a relaxing prenatal massage.  We decided to go down to the pool and get some exercise that afternoon and then came back to the room for a nap.  Saturday night we had reservations at Pasta Moon downtown.  It was by far the BEST meal we had while in Half Moon Bay.  After dinner we went back to the Ritz and watched the sunset over the ocean. 

I didn't get any pictures of us at dinner, but Matt loved this HUGE great dane that was outside and I believe it's safe to say he would like one now :)

They had a man play the bagpipes as the sun set at the hotel

It was the perfect end to our week-long vacation!!  We flew home on Sunday and Matt and I both took off work Monday to recoup and get ready for the week.  We had the best time and are so thankful for such a fantastic vacation!!!!

San Francisco

Matt and I were very blessed to have spent the last week in sunny California!!  We started our week in San Francisco and then moved on to the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay, where we met up with my team from Eli Lilly.  YEP!!!  The A-Team had a year of exceeding sales expectations and won a trip, all expenses paid!  We had the best time!  I have lots of pictures, so I'll start with the first of the week where we spent 3 days in the beautiful city of San Fran!!!

 

We enjoyed some sunshine in Union Square across from our hotel as soon as we got there. 

We stayed at the Westin St. Francis.

 

We spent our afternoon on Tuesday enjoying lunch at Scala's and then shopping.  (This Mama may or may not have splurged on a new Gucci handbag ;)) That night we had dinner with my cousin Tyler and his wife, Avery.  They've lived in SF for two years. They took us to the Foreign Cinema for dinner- an old theater that has been remodeled into a restaurant.  They play old movies on the outside walls...it was delicious and a great atmosphere!!

 

 

We started Wednesday morning at the Starbucks around the corner from our hotel.  After breakfast we went to Alcatraz.  It was one of the highlights of our trip and something that's been on my "bucket list."  It was eerie and yet so interesting.  Here are a few of the MILLION that we took.


 

Waiting for the ferry to Alcatraz

The Golden Gate Bridge (really far away)

After spending the morning at Alcatraz, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf and ate at a great restaurant called the Pier Market.  We enjoyed some fun on Pier 39 and then went back to the hotel for a little nap before heading to the Giants/Cardinals game that night. 

Side Note: My cousin, Tyler, works for Sony and is involved with the MLB Playstation Vita games.  In other words, he has the TOTAL HOOKUP.  We sat in the "Cardinals Friends and Family" section and he even got a ball signed by David Freese (the third baseman) for Matt, who's a big Cardinals fan.  Freese was the only Cardinal to hit a home run that night!

After cheering on the Cardinals 4-1 win, we met my cousin Kayla at one of the bars in our hotel.  She just happened to be in San Fran for work and ironically was staying at the same hotel we were!!!  Talk about meant to be....  We had the best time catching up and words can't express how good it was to see her!!

Thursday morning, we slept in and had a leisurely morning of walking to Starbucks, enjoying breakfast, and taking in the city.  We ate lunch at Cafe de la Presse and then explored Chinatown. 

After Chinatown, it was time to head to Half Moon Bay (which is about an hour outside the city on the coast).  We had a car pick us up at the hotel, said good-bye to San Francisco, and headed to the Ritz.  It was a great start to a wonderful week!!!!