Sacramento to Monarch Beach...Like Night and Day

  Monarch Beach, California
Thursday, July 26, 2007

I flew out of Sacramento, since the kids and I had been visiting my family in the Central Valley, and the kids were staying with my mom and dad while I was away. I was so looking forward to getting to the beach, because the Valley heat was sweltering, and my stress levels were high.

The flight went well and was not even full, so that was nice. DH picked me up at the John Wayne Airport without incident. At check in at the St. Regis, Monarch Beach, they confirmed our dinner reservation for the wrong restaurant, which made me very unhappy, especially since they said the restaurant I had made the reservation for, the exclusive, Monarch Bay, was booked! They did eventually get it worked out a few hours later. We ate lunch at Motif--just had salads. DH had the Ceasar fondu where you dip your romaine wedges into the dressing--it was rather clever. The iced tea ($5.00 a pop) came with a little pitcher of simple syrup--not that I used it--I'm a Splenda girl. After they brought me the right tea (I had ordered "regular iced tea" and they brought that flavored crap), I drank it without sweetening it at all. There was no need--it was *that* good. :)

We then laid out by the pool for a little bit on a quiet end by the fountain and just relaxed. Then got ready for the dinner that was part of DH's Executive Summit. Dinner was fun because we ended up being at the "rowdy table." Met some nice people, and the food was good. It was a great day, and I felt better already!