Week 23 and Baby Moon

Baby Moon

Brett and I just returned from our babymoon in California... We spent 5 days enjoying the sights and sounds in the Southern California Region. We made quite a trek around as we toured Santa Barbra, Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Monica, and LA.

Day 1: We arrived in California on time and ready to go. We collected our rental car and were off. The first day we drove to Venice Beach and walked the beach walk. There was an amazing pier that we walked out onto to watch the crazy surfers. The homes along the walk were amazing and despite the small lot sizes, I am sure they were uber expensive. There were quite of few interesting characters that we observed during our people watching. After Venice Beach we drove past Santa Monica Pier on our way to our hotel in Oxnard. The views on the Pacific Coast Highway were amazing and in many ways reminded us of the coastline on Maui. There were rugged mountains and hills lining the beautiful ocean. We checked into our hotel and freshened up for a dinner. We ate a great italian restaurant.
Day 2: We took the Pacific Coast Highway up to Santa Barbra for an awesome day. We visited the Santa Barbra Harbor and spent a large amount of time walking around the downtown Santa Barbra area. The high-end shops were fun to look at. We went into one particular baby store and chuckled at the clearance rack prices of 90.00 for one little pink sweatshirt... in the store's defense; it was really cute. We stopped by the beach, but were disappointed with the immense winds that inhibited our ability to sun:( We made our way for dinner at the Lobster Trap and enjoyed a nice, quiet meal on the harbor.

Day 3: We had an amazing excursion with Island Packers out to the Channel Islands on the Pacific Ocean. The intention was to observe some of the marine life around the channel islands. We were in awe of everything we were able to see. We saw sea lions, seals, whales, bottle-nosed, and common-dolphins. The highlight of this half-day cruise was the large pod of common-dolphins that charged at the boat as we were coming back to shore. The captain announced that he believed there were over 300 of these dolphins. Because they are smaller than other dolphins (but still 150 pounds and 6 feet long) and have less blubber, they are really active. All of the dolphins were jumping and swimming around the boat as we followed them slowly. It was by far the highlight of the cruise! Later that day, we drove to check in at our hotel in L.A. and meet up with Dylan. We met up with Dylan at his apartment and were able to see where he lives. We then went for drinks at a swanky bar called vicoroy. It was beautiful. We then walked to Santa Monica Pier and then along a promenade before we ate dinner at Yankee Doodles. I know Brett enjyoed the time catching up with Dylan.


Day 4: We did a lot of sightseeing today. We walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame, visited Grumman's Chinese Theater, Saw the Kodak Theater, checked out the La Brea tar pits, and saw the Hollywood sign.


We spent a majority of our day at The Getty Center. This art museum sits atop a bluff overlooking L.A. This museum was breathtaking. The tram up to the museum offered just a glimpse into what lay ahead. At the top of the hill lay an immense granite and marble complex of buildings and gardens that housed beautiful art pieces and sculptures. The pictures do not do it justice. We ate lunch at the Getty Center and I ate the most amazing Turkey burger.... The pregnancy dictates much of my eating and, as Brett has found out, when I get hungry, I need to eat NOW! After lunch we continued to walk around the complex and revel in the beauty.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for happy hour and to clean up. Brent Voutrebeck and Dylan met at the hotel and enjoyed happy hour with us. Then Dylan, Brett, and I went to an amazing organic mexican food restaurant. My enchilladas were delicious and I was determined to get the recipe for their delicious salsa. We all went back to the hotel, and because we had a suite, I went to bed and Dylan and Brett were able to stay up and chat. They did so until 1:30am. I am glad they got to see each other a little longer and catch up.

Day 5: We checked out and made our way back to the airport. We stopped in Pasadena and checked out the Rose Bowl. We are hoping to be back in January with Lydia to cheer the Hawks on at the Rose Bowl.

We made our flight to Dallas Fort Forth and stayed there for the night. We enjoyed a pizza at the hotel and an early night... We flew back to Peoria this morning (Day 6). We were thrilled to be back home, but disappointed that our power had gone out causing the garage not to open and the fridge to be off. We had to call a locksmith to open the front door and then had to toss out all the food in the fridge and freezer.

All in all, the babymoon was awesome. We often discussed how Lydia was going to change things in the future, but mostly were excited that she will be able to experience many of the things that we love to do. We are planning another mini-moon in the summer for a weekend trip before she comes.