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Barking birthday sea lions

John Steinbeck once described Cannery Row as, "...a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream." What he forgot to include in his description was a 14-mile oceanside hike, a bevy of barking sea lions, a $15 blue cheese burger, a short rib dinner and a finger puppet named Foo.

With bags packed and a fully-charged digital camera, we began our 90-mile drive to Monterey in honor of Bob's [fill in the number you deem appropriate here] birthday—a fine excuse for adventure.

After a hearty breakfast and cheap backpack purchase (Zut alors! We carelessly left our well-weathered pack in Palo Alto)—we were on our way. Our hike was nothing short of spectacular; crashing waves to our right, fields of iridescent flowers to our left, and a tasty blue cheese burger at the 7-mile mark, the Inn at Spanish Bay, and thankfully our turnaround point.

By mid-afternoon we welcomed a nap and a shower, then headed off to to Fandango for a birthday dinner where Bob played with his silverware in anticipation of his shortribs, Ms. Foo made friends with a ceramic swine and Mama Foo demolished her fillet with the same vigor used to slay the baked cookie sundae earlier that afternoon.

Happy Birthday Bob! (and many mooooooooore...)

Coming soon: birthday weekend in Monterey