I was the recipient of the best text message in 2020: Mom just scored on Monterey for August 1st – 3rd. Would you like to come with us and spend some time there? xoxo

Excitement surged through my veins, leaving my skin tingly. This was my first real adventure since shelter-in-place started. I couldn’t wait to absorb Mother Earth’s energy from the beach to hopefully heal my stress, anxiety, and fear. To add the cherry on top of this already luscious dessert-trip, we were going during the Full Moon (The Sturgeon Moon). Salt water cleansing is considered to be the best and most thorough way to cleanse crystals (not all crystals react well to water though. Some crystals will dissolve when they come into contact with water while others will have their appearances or properties altered. Always do your research on the specific crystal to find out the best way to cleanse it). Cleansing my crystals and myself in salt water in preparation for the Sturgeon Moon’s energy sounded like the perfect way to recharge. I took a moment to thank the Universe for setting the trip that way.

The night before heading to Monterey I felt like a child who’s one sleep away from Disneyland.

Saturday

The drive to Monterey was typical for any bay area trip: stop-and-go traffic, rubbernecking at every side-of-the-road activity, and sticky heat. (I was in the backseat, so typically, it doesn’t matter how high the AC is turned on in the front, if there isn’t separate AC for the back, the delicious cool air doesn’t travel past the center console.) None of that mattered though. We were inching closer and closer to relaxation, fun, and family bonding.

I only brought my palm stones (Flower Agate and Blue Apatite) and smaller crystals (Rose Quartz, Tiger’s Eye, Green Aventurine, Amazonite, Black Tourmaline, Clear Quartz, and Moonstone) for fear of damaging my larger crystals.

Whenever I bring Tiger’s Eye with me, I always have success in finding great parking spaces. Because I brought my Tiger’s Eye and Green Aventurine (one of its qualities is that it generates luck) with me, we found the best parking spot, and we were able to have Dad and Mom’s second-favorite room. Score!

The moment after we unpacked, we decided to hit the beach. It was late afternoon/early evening, so we were in between the afternoon beach crowd and the sunset-watching beach crowd.

I sat there breathing in the wind, and a layer of tanginess started to build on my tongue. As I dug my feet deeper into the sand, the more restorative energy I felt. I had already started to breathe easier and feel calmer.

When our faces started to go numb from the strengthening wind, we headed back to our room and whipped up an odds and ends dinner. For dessert, we opened a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the start of our vacation together.

Sunday

While having coffee and biscone (I’ve never had these before and wow were they good!), I mentioned that I needed to find something from nature to place my crystals on for their full moon bath. On our morning walk, we scoured the beach looking for driftwood. Mom found one that had a lot of character to it, and unfortunately, Dad had to drag it back to our room because of how big it was (seriously, thanks so much again for doing that, Dad!).

We walked further than we meant to – that’s the beauty of walking on the beach, right? Distance doesn’t matter when we have so natural stimulation around us. Dad had forgotten to pack their joint supplements, so Mom worried about feeling achy later that day. I told her to not worry as I had packed mine. That moment when you share the same joint supplements as your parents…

Monterey County had stricter COVID-19 restrictions, so nothing was supposed to be open. We stopped at our favorite restaurant on the pier, Sandbar & Grill, to see if they happened to be open. And they were! (Thank you, Green Aventurine.)

That was my first meal at a restaurant since the beginning of shelter-in-place. Even though it felt different, bliss and serenity emanated throughout the restaurant. We left feeling full: of wonderful food, conversation, and company.

And what’s a vacation without shopping and a trip to Costco! Those were our next stops.

We caught another beautiful sunset that night. The fog bank didn’t appear until the sun had dipped below the horizon. The wind wasn’t as forceful as the night before. The ocean was tranquil; the only sound audible was the waves crashing against the shore. I drank these moments in and absorbed this energy into mine. I felt even better than I did the night before.

I never realized how long it actually took for the sun to set until I tried to record a video and quickly noticed that the sun really wasn’t moving. Quite disappointing! I settled with taking a picture every time the sun sunk lower, and I captured the actual setting of the sun on video. (I found out later that night that one of my aunts had tried to do the same thing on her honeymoon and felt the same disappointment. I guess the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree!)

We celebrated another night of vacation with Zinfandel for Dad and I and Chardonnay for Mom.

Monday

The morning of the Sturgeon Moon. I woke up feeling aligned, recharged, surrounded by love, and perfectly alive with my energy flowing freely. I hadn’t felt this good in months. And the Universe mirrored each of these feelings back to me on our morning walk on the beach: we found two jellyfish and a message in a bottle; the weather was warm; the water felt perfect; and there was hardly anyone else at the beach with us.

Of course we did some more shopping later that day! And then we found ourselves taking the same drive we always do along the Asilomar State Beach, pointing out the same houses we have always loved, and taking in the miles and miles of ocean. We pulled over to take some pictures (okay, okay – we pulled over, so that I could take some pictures) and discovered a private stretch of the beach where no one else was.

The tide was out, so we were able to explore the tide pools. I love how tide pools have their own little communities inside the vast ocean – that has fascinated me since I was little. We sat and watched the waves wildly crash against the rocks and combed the shoreline for treasures from the ocean. We were lucky enough to leave with handfuls of shells and a piece of sea glass!

We decided to be adventurous and go to the Sandbar & Grill again, but this time for dinner.

When we got back to our room, I prepared my crystals for their full moon bath, and we went to the beach to watch our last sunset of the trip. We celebrated our last night of vacation with whiskey on the rocks (and a Pinot Grigio for me).

Tuesday

I eagerly brought my crystals back in the next morning, and in the process, I had a crystal casualty (RIP!). I sat with the rest, absorbing their cleansed and harnessed energy from the Sturgeon Moon, and set an intention for each crystal.

We enjoyed our last coffee and biscone and then headed out for our last walk on the beach. We decided to walk down the opposition direction as there wasn’t another soul there. Savoring these last moments, I felt completely recharged and ready to tackle anything and everything. We even found a sand dollar (Dad and Mom told me that they hardly ever find these on this beach), and we saw a seal swim close to the shoreline (thank you, Tiger’s Eye!). Before we left, I made sure to bring home 4 bottles and another plastic container full of salt water (that was also charged under the Sturgeon Moon) to last me until my next trip to the beach. (Thanks Mom and Dad for helping with this part too!)

Before we made the journey home, we stumbled upon Acme Coffee Roasting Company, a local coffeehouse in Seaside. It was an amazing surprise with even better coffee, and the best way to end our vacation. As we were leaving Monterey, I again thanked the Universe for the wonderful vacation that was planned for us.

Have you been to the Sandbar & Grill or Acme Coffee Roasting Company? What’s your method of cleansing and charging your crystals? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!