What's been happening with Cubby and Fox? Adventures of 2016 edition. Part two

Oh, hello there. Thanks for joining me for another exciting edition of "What's been happening with Cubby and Fox?" This post is about our best and worst trip of the year. 

After the glorious wedding we attended in Fort Bragg, Cubby and I traveled to our favorite place in the state, Patrick's Point State Park. We have camped there at the end of every summer for the last four years. We spend our days scouring the beaches for agates and other various treasures. We spend our nights crackin' jokes and eating hot dogs around the fire. Our campsite (the same one every year) is private, shrouded in moss covered giant redwoods, and fully stocked with adorable fauna.
This year's trip didn't boast any exciting or calamitous events. It was perfect, peaceful and compassionately free of sunburns.

Our 13th anniversary trip to Monterey was, unfortunately, not as grand. We shelled out some dough to stay at a "fancy" hotel, which turned out to be just a facade. The hotel restaurant was no better. After being seated in the dining room next to a television, we were served our drinks and then ignored for a good 15 minutes while our server watched the broadcast of a football game. Determined to not let it spoil our mood, we moved on politely to try and find another place to have a nice dinner. I was surprised that, in Monterey, it's not as easy as you suspect. After wandering the strip for a half an hour and asking around for recommendations, we settled on what we were told was a locals' favorite. I must say, the decor of the restaurant was astounding. It was decadently adorned with all the kitsch and glamour of the Regan era. We were seated in the Gazebo Room, laden with plastic ivy and painted plaster statues. I was in love. More like dining in a Disneyland dark ride. It was so strange and wonderful that I didn't even care that our food was, well, really quite bad. Our service was kind and prompt, and they even gave us a free dessert to celebrate our anniversary. A generous piece of chocolate cake that tasted strangely of French fries. 

Cubby and I, with stomach grumbles and full of some suspect abalone, retreated to our hotel for the evening. The next day we made our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The time we spent there was the highlight of our trip. We loved it so much we went through the entire place twice. Also, the cafeteria clam chowder bread bowl... Best meal in Monterey. The day was, unfortunately, tainted with the stomach "issues" we were both experiencing from the previous night's meal. 

My one wish for our trip (besides lots of kisses and snuggles), was to eat a fantastic seafood dinner, which up until that point had been a misadventure. So, we decided to try again at another "local fave". We took a drive away from the touristy part of the city to visit a small tucked away restaurant. We ordered the cioppino, our favorite. I asked our server if we could have octopus omitted from the dish (they are such majestic little creatures, I can't stand the idea of eating them). Our food arrived smelling delicious... and full of tiny octi bodies. I called our server over and notified her of the mistake, and her response was thus; "Oh yeah, sometimes the kitchen just doesn't listen to me." Then she walked away. Not wanting to make an issue, I picked them out and decided to tuck in (at this point Cubby and I were feeling a little sick and sweaty). My first bite was... a rotten mussel. Cubby ate some of what he was served and I ate the bread.

As we retreated to our hotel once more, we were feeling compromised, to say the least. We spent the remainder of the night in our bed, holding hands and watching a marathon of Antiques Roadshow. 

Moral of the story: things don't always turn our the way you expect, and you can always count on Antiques Roadshow to help you through a difficult time.