Give them a chance!

Who likes Brussels Sprouts?

Anyone?

[cue crickets here]

See, I was unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your opinion of brussels sprouts) to have never experienced these strange little veggies growing up.  I, like many young, impressionable souls, repeated the gross noises and sick faces whenever these things were mentioned... but without any real reason to do so.

After a very scientific poll, I discovered that Mr. Incredible had this same experience growing up- claiming to hate them but never actually having tried brussels sprouts.  We blame our parents.  They must have had bad brussels sprouts experiences.

So in the name of science, I decided to make some the other night...

And I kind of like them!  Here's what I did:

First I cut off the stems... or bottoms... I'm not real sure on my brussels sprouts anatomy...

Then drizzled olive oil into a baking pan and tossed the little guys in...

Then things get interesting... like cayenne pepper interesting!

Add a little sea salt...

And some garlic!

But dice it up first...

And toss it on the brussels...

Roast for about 17 minutes in a hot oven (like 425 degrees!)...

And enjoy the buttery, yummy insides and roasted, peppery outsides...with a little parmesan cheese... but try to remember to take picture before you eat of these babies!

I really do not understand why brussels sprouts get such a bad name... anyone out have any input?

-CtF

and now for something less sappy...

...like dogs running on the beach...

...and dogs jumping on the beach....

...and dogs running and jumping on the beach at sunset...

Doesn't it make you want to run and jump on the beach?

-CtF

memories...

A trip up California's central coast wouldn't be complete for the Nielsen family without a stop at William R. Hearst State Beach.  This is a seemingly insignificant beach for most- sure its a pretty crescent moon beach with an old wooden pier that adds to its charm.  But nestled among San Simeon State Beach and Moonstone to the south and the infamous elephant seals to the north, its easy to over look William R. Hearst State Beach.

But four years ago, Mr. Incredible took me to this beach to ask a very important question.  Here we are four years ago- right before he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him:

And four years later, I'm still glad he asked and I said yes ;)

Here's a few more shots of our favorite beach- plus a few elephant seals for those of you who are dying from curiosity!

Moonstone Beach

We discovered a real gem at Moonstone Beach near Cambria, CA.  The beach is named for the famous moonstones that are occasionally found there.  Instead of sand, the entire beach is composed of rocks and pebbles-

This beach has everything!

Beautiful views...

Places to sit and reflect (or picnic!)...

Rocks to climb...

Driftwood...

Tidepools to explore...

Creatures to discover...

Hidden beauty...

Even Brodo paused to reflect...

Nora was caught up in the sights...

But you can see this lasted all of about 3 seconds... then it was off for more exploring!

Cayucos!

Our next stop after The Rock was the cute little town of Cayucos.  I'd never heard of it either.

Its a tiny beach town with an old fashion fishing pier and small antique and art galleries along the ocean.  Oh- and cows.  Like instead of high-end resorts and world famous spas doting the coastline, picture beautiful green pasture land as undeveloped as Kansas... really truly happy California cows!

Here's a close-up of the traffic light-

Please note- it was not an incredibly dusty or smoggy day and there is nothing wrong with the color on your monitor... Cayucos just seemed like the kind of place that hasn't changed since the 70s... so these photos reflect that vintage feel...

The peaceful pier in old Cayucos:

And then we did this:

We released the beasts... and they were so happy to be off their leashes and out of their European-style motel room, they lived in the moment:

They really do love each other- contrary to the photographic evidence:

Yikes!  Does Mr. Incredible look concerned or in danger?

Thankfully Nora decided to call it quits and we corralled the Germans and headed up the coast!

Morro Bay Rock-On!

Mr. Incredible and I took a few days after Christmas to head up the California coast with our two favorite German Short Haired Pointers- Nora and Brody!  We found a "European-Style" motel that was dog-friendly in Morro Bay.  Here's the illustrious Bayfront Inn:

We discovered that "European-Style" translates into American culture as "incredibly tiny."  However, we didn't plan on spending much time in the room with two rambunctious dogs so it was all good.  (The Bayfront Inn was INCREDIBLY clean and an AMAZING deal- so I'm not complaining or anything.)

The best part of staying here was the location.  The Bayfront Inn was located directly across the street from this:

This is The Rock at Morro Bay.  If you've ever driven up the 101 North, you've probably noticed this thing hovering off the coast.  The town made famous by the rock turned out to be pretty cool.  There were lots of oyster and fish restaurants along the harbor, a healthy mix of eclectic tourist shops, a couple dive bars, and real fishing boats and fishermen mixing in with the rowdy teenagers and tourists on the crowded boardwalk.  And us- with the Germans.

We decided to get a closer look at the rock.  Its a bird sanctuary and the actual rock is off-limits to climbers.  However, you can drive right up to it and scramble along on the rocks below.  Here's a close-up of the rock from its base:

  

And Mr. Incredible and the Brodo checking out the scenery:

There was quite a crowd gathered at the base of The Rock checking out the high surf crashing against the breakwater.  I took way too many photos of the waves breaking over the rocks- and none of them do the ocean justice.  Just know that these were very big and powerful waves breaking with immense force:

We finally pulled ourselves away from the waves and headed up the coast for a fun day of exploring little coastal towns and letting the Germans run on the beaches.  The Rock seemed to keep cropping up in our sight though-

It made a cool photo subject and a fun landmark to check our travel progress throughout the day!