Journey Through California Part 2: Carmel-by-the-Sea

                                           

I think it's safe to say that I got a little bit behind on my blogging this past week. That just means my honeymoon is doing its job! After we left the calm, quiet beaches of Cambria we trekked about 2 1/2 hours north to a small coastal town called Carmel-by-the-Sea. This is one of my favorite Central California beaches. My family and I vacationed here a few times when I was in high school, and I fell in love with the art galleries, white sand beaches, and bakeries and candy shops all over the streets. When taking Austin here, I wanted to make sure he got to experience all of my favorite parts of Carmel.

The first part of my past I wanted to share with him was the inn that my family stayed it. The Monte Verde Inn is easily in my top five favorite vacation stays. On this trip, instead of the family suite, I got to try the Deluxe King w/ Fireplace room, and it was beautiful.

                       

One of my absolute favorite places to go while staying in Carmel is a popular hiking spot called Point Lobos. It's a hiking spot my dad took me too when we came about 5 years ago. I really wanted to show Austin the views, but we got more than we bargained for! It was humpback whale season and there were quite a few out to play for the afternoon! (Sorry about the quality)

Other notable features about our stay in Carmel were the Cottage of Sweets (one of the cutest candy stores I've seen on the West Coast), The Carmel Bakery ice cream, and of course Carmel Beach! All in all, I'd say this was a pretty successful leg of our trip!

  

Journey Through California Part 1: Coasts and Castles

                                          

California is one of the most unique places on earth.
That's why my new husband and I thought it would be the perfect way to spend our honeymoon. I know a honeymoon post is kind of a big jump from a being engaged post, but I don't think I can do my wedding post justice without real wedding photos.
Our honeymoon adventure began in a sleepy beach town called Cambria. It was quaint and rustic with a little bit of natural beachside charm. We stayed in a cute little hotel that was on the beach. Aside from the incredible lack of internet, (which irritated my husband more than anything) the small place was a nice relaxing start to our trip.
Our first stop was a beautiful sunset on the beach, steps away from our door. It was a great way to commemorate our first full day of marriage. There was a wooden boardwalk for us to stroll upon while we talked (about our feelings no less :P). Once we found a good bench we proceeded with our quest to be the ultimate tourists and began snapping eternal memories on our smart phones. 
  

     

We had one mission for our 2nd day in Cambria.

Hearst Castle.

We had spent the whole weekend telling everyone that Hearst Castle was one of the many stops we had planned for the honeymoon. My parents insisted, his parents insisted, so we bit the bullet and purchased the disgustingly overpriced tickets to traverse a 100 year old cattle ranch owned by someone with a very expensive taste in Mediterranean Renaissance art. Despite the high fees, we managed to really enjoy ourselves. I got to admire some remarkable works of art owned by someone who clearly doesn't share my appreciation of frugality, while Austin was busy making plans for our dream home. (Hope he's okay waiting about 30 years.)

                                          

On our third and final morning we had our free continental breakfast and kissed our receptionless, internetless, yet scenic stop goodbye, and began the next part of our adventure.

Carmel By-the-Sea.

                                     

3 Things That No One Tells You About Your Engagement

There's a lot of things that nobody tells you when you get engaged. The focal points I was approached with were: 

1. It will feel like forever.

2. You will be more stressed than ever.

3. It will be the best and worst of times.

I agree with every single one of these points. There were times where I felt like the month would never end and that I would never get to the point I'm at now (15 days before the wedding). I also had points where I was crumbling under the pressure of acting as a go-between for my parents and future in-laws. There were times where I felt like being engaged was the best thing ever and times where I questioned every decision I ever made that got me to this point. However, as I approach the end of my time as a fiancee, I discovered that there were a few things that I learned in this period that were invaluable to me and to my relationship. 

The first thing was realizing how much I need my partner. The joys and sorrows of life are meant to be shared, and when you're knee deep in invitations with a typo, and your in-laws keep trying to change the venue, and your mom is yelling at you for not giving her enough time to plan, the relief of having someone there who is always on your side, batting for your team, and swinging home runs is, in one word, necessary. I never developed so much gratitude for someone than I did for Austin during our engagement. 

The next thing I learned was that the engagement period is a real test on your relationship. The reason that I support having a reasonably timed engagement, is because during the engagement, you learn so much about your partner in a different capacity. You not only get to see them under pressure, but the way they handle situations now is indicative of how they will handle high pressure situations in your life as husband and wife. The more time you have to discover those things, the clearer your picture of the future will be. 

The last thing I got out of my engagement that no one told me about was that, if you organize it right and you have the help you need, your life can work in conjunction with your wedding planning. As a full time student, I was very concerned with the comments that my life would be at a standstill while preparing for the wedding. According to various sources, regardless of the things I planned ahead, I would be drowning in wedding pamphlets and my grades, job, friends, etc. would take a very far back seat. All I can say, as I finished my semester, is that it's possible that some people are using engagements as an excuse to slack off. I'm far from superwoman, and there were moments of very intense stress, but my life was not stopped for this wedding. Planning took up maybe 3 hours of my week, usually consisting of phone calls to various members of my family. As the bride, you are a delegate. You are in charge, and it's your job to oversee everything that goes into the overall plan. With the help of family members and others, you can get it all done, and still have a life. The key is to be organized and not be afraid of asking for help. 

All in all, the engagement period as been a whirlwind of emotions, stress, and work. I stand by the opinion that it is indeed the best and the worst of times in your life. There are things I would have done differently, and things I wish I could change, but at this point, the most important thing is to look forward, and continue my journey with my future husband.