After scrambling to get Arlo’s birth certificate over the past few weeks (which was somewhere along the postal route), I was extremely persistent with passport Canada and had his passport in hand exactly 19 hours before our scheduled flight to Santa Barbara!  That just goes to show you that intention is 99% of the game.  I just knew that we were going to make that flight even though getting a passport in time seemed impossible.  As chance would have it, we actually missed our connecting flight, so we got to plane spot for a few hours 😉

There are so many things I am grateful for in my life, and getting to travel to California often is definitely one of them.  If you have the chance, get yourself to Santa Barbara at some point in your lifetime.  It is so beautiful that I would love to call it home some day.  And the California Coast is not to be missed!

Arlo spent a lot of time in his baby wrap.  It makes traveling with a baby so much easier!  Not to mention it added a good 15 lbs to my walks.  Between walking and a few morning runs, I’m pretty sure I lost weight on “vacation.”  Though I don’t see travel as a break from a healthy lifestyle.  You can find healthy food wherever you go, and you can stay active very easily.

This is the first time we made it as far north as Napa Valley, and it won’t be our last time there.  I took this picture one morning when I drove up to Newton winery.  The roads up these hills are insane, but they are worth the risky drive for the views they provide.  And the food in Yountville was ridiculously amazing.  I had some of the best food of my life there, and of course some incredible Cabernet Sauvignon as well.

We also made it to San Francisco for the first time.  I took this photo of the downtown core one block away from Plow, where we had one of the best breakfasts ever.  It’s one of those hipster joints with paleo and gluten free options.  Delicious.  We enjoyed a morning run and workout in the park that morning, which no doubt gave me a healthy appetite!  I love how easy it is to be active in California.

This was meant to be a true vacation from work, but as luck would have it I came out of it with a new job, and it’s one that I am super excited about.  I can’t wait to let you all in on what I will be up to, but I’m going to save that for a post a few weeks down the road!