Meandering Among the Majestic Monarchs - A Recharging Family Roadtrip

The day-to-day grind of being a work at home mom can definitely get overwhelming and trust me, I've had more than a few Calgon moments over the past few months. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself very lucky. My husband and I have thriving freelance businesses which allow us the luxury of maintaining our own schedules which in turn, give us more family time, but sometimes the itch to unplug and recharge becomes so great that we just have to "get out of dodge"! 

So, needless to say, when my mom told me she was headed up north to Pismo Beach for some meetings, I cleared our schedule and we jumped in the car! Pismo Beach is a sleepy little beach community a few hours north of Los Angeles, up the famous Pacific Coast Highway, nestled in between wine country, state parks, majestic mountains and white sand beaches. It offers peaceful solitude, lazy walks, monumental sunsets and an awe-inspiring Monarch Butterfly grove!

Sometimes, the very act of changing your scenery can adjust your outlook and it was just our luck that our hotel was steps from the white powder-sand beach, the boardwalk and a huge pier, perfect for watching the sunset. Since birth, I have had an affection for the sounds of moving water. When I was younger, I had a secret place I would go to when I needed to be alone. It was basically just a drainage ditch dressed up with rocks and foliage. To me, it was a babbling brook where I could sit in silence for hours contemplating my teenage angst. I think I got it from my mom. She is happiest when the sound of the surf is within earshot.

We whiled away most of the weekend just spending time with each other, searching for sea glass, building sandcastles and running in the surf. On our way back down to Los Angeles, we made sure to stop at the Monarch Butterfly Grove and it just so happened that it was Western Monarch Day. We seriously couldn't have been luckier! 

As we entered the butterfly grove we walked into a full blown festival complete with art activities for the kids, a drum circle, CAKE and educational exhibitions. They brought to life "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and had magnifying glasses for the kids (and adults) to see, up close and personal, the life cycle of the Monarch, starting from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis. It was a beautiful day full of moments we will keep close to our hearts forever.

There's a very delicate line we must constantly walk, it's a sweet balancing act between expecting independent play while mommy works and both of us losing our minds. I must say that the outdoors is not only a place for V to run, jump, explore and discover, it's a shining beacon of sanity for me! If we are cooped up in the house for too long, we both start to lose our minds and so it is into the woods we go (even if mom's on deadline).

The one thing I've learned with our newest adventure in parenting is, when the walls start closing in, it's exponentially more beneficial to all of us to simply stop and get out on a trail, even if for an hour. There truly is nothing that hits the reset button more quickly than a nature walk. The crunch of the leaves under foot, a distant woodpecker knocking, the sun warming the back of our necks, all aid in calming our minds and bringing the smile back to our faces.