Thursday
We left from work Thursday evening. I had planned to take the whole day off but had to go in for a study for most of the day. Joel was able to stop by daycare the same time his parents were picking the kids up and give them a hug.
We got to the airport early and had dinner together at a Mexican restaurant in Terminal 2. It was MEA weeks, so I was nervous that it would be really busy at the airport. We flew Sun Country and it was pretty quiet when we got there around 6. The line to drop the bags did seem to take a long time with only one worker at a kiosk, but it was definitely manageable and worth not spending twice the price on a plane ticket.
We got in at 10ish California time (way passed our bedtime regardless of the time zone!). It was bizarre getting to our rental car. We had to get off the plane and wait 20ish minutes to get onto a bus to drive us to a different terminal so we could get our bags. Then we had to go sit on a bus to get to the rental car place. The bus stopped so many times and took FOREVER to get us to the car check in. Thankfully, the keys were in the car, so we could just grab and go to get driving the 45 minutes. We didn’t get to our hotel room until 12:45 am. I showered quick to wash airplane off of me and fell asleep.
Friday
We woke up around 7:15 am to the sound of construction just outside of our hotel room. It was good to get going in the morning since Joel wanted to check out some local pickleball. He drove the 15 minutes to courts and I walked a mile and a half to the local Starbucks to blog and read before the 9:45am Orange Theory class. I realized how much I love my studio. The studio in Simi Valley isn’t updated yet with new screens, etc. They also weren’t very welcoming… I felt invisible.. Thankfully it was a great workout. I stopped at Target to grab some sunscreen on my walk back to the hotel.
Joel and I walked next door to Toppers Pizza (no relation to the chain in Minnesota). They had a lunch special that was a trip to their salad bar with a lunch size pizza. It was yummy! After lunch, we went to explore Corriganville Park. It is the scene of thousands of movies/TV shows, including The Lone Ranger. Joel and I freaked ourselves out with every rustle in the bushes thinking we were about to get attacked by a mountain lion or a rattle snake. We cut our walk pretty short.. it was pretty hot out and we were way too jumpy to enjoy it. We headed back to the hotel to relax a little bit.
Around 230, we hopped in the car and drove an hour to Ventura Beach. It was so fun to FaceTime the kids with the waves and ocean in the background. We walked along the beach and had a beer at MadeWest Brewing Co right on the pier. We walked a little farther down the beach to The Aloha Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner. It was nice atmosphere and Joel got some delicious scallops. Unfortunately, their vegan/vegetarian menu was all mushroom based, so I enjoyed a $23 grilled cheese (cheese melted on a hamburger bun). We split an artichoke as an appetizer – I forgot all about these! Definitely want to have these at home when we get back. They brought us out a little ice cream cake to celebrate our anniversary.
We walked back to the car on the paved path next to the beach – it was nice to keep our feet clean! We drove back to Simi Valley, which took less time without traffic. We stopped at 85 degree bakery to grab a dessert to bring back to the hotel. I tried their cheesecake soufflé (meh) and a little strawberry mousse cup (yum). Joel got some cookies. The place was really intriguing, it was a large variety of asian pastries and a yummy looking coffee bar.
I had every intention of staying up late reading… and fell asleep probably 10 minutes after I laid down. Our hotel has walls that are so darn thin – we could hear people next door and above us. They woke me up a few times at night.. and then woke both of us up for good around 530am when a couple people walked passed our hotel talking loudly.
Saturday
I got up and changed and went for a run. I had originally planned to do about 6 miles.. buuuut my body was tired from the day before with working out and walking so much so I cut it short at just over 2 miles. Joel and I grabbed breakfast in the hotel and then parted ways so he could play pickleball and I could walk to a different Starbucks. The weather was beautiful.
We grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then stopped at a little shop to see if there were any goodies to get for the kiddos – there was only candy for us to buy. We headed back to the hotel to rest until it was time to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was in my cousin’s parent’s backyard and it was a little oasis of fairy lights and beautiful plants tucked behind a house 10 minutes from the hotel. There was a champagne welcome before it was time for them to get married. My cousin’s dad officiated the wedding. His officiating and their vows brought me to tears. It was so beautiful.
Joel and I chatted with my cousin’s parents (which technically… her mom is my half cousin?). We met one of Kristen’s cousins that also lives in Minnesota – we got his number so that we can catch up with him in the cities. We ate food and made s’mores and I danced. It was so fulfilling to see these family members and chat with all of their friends and family!
Sunday
Sunday morning, we grabbed breakfast in the hotel and then packed up to head to Santa Monica pier. We grabbed coffee and walked the beach a bit. We tried out the e-bike/motor scooter thingies that you can hop off of and motored over to Venice beach. We sat and watched people surfing and just enjoyed the lovely weather for a bit. When it got closer to lunch time, we started the walk back to Santa Monica.
Joel did some pull ups and looked super fit at Muscle Beach.
We walked to try to find Thai food.. it was closed.. then Indian food.. it was closed. We stumbled upon an eclectic Mexican restaurant and were glad we did, it was delicious!
After lunch, we headed back towards our car by way of the promenade. What a cool stretch of shops! We stopped in and looked at a Tesla and really wanted to snag one of the little ones for Miles.
We drove down to Hollywood to take a 2 hour bus tour. It was a little bit of a mess… but it was awesome. We parked in Hollywood and then walked to try to find the place. It looked like it started at a souvenir shop so we tried to find a bathroom before it started. We walked down the block and found a brewery that allowed you to use the bathroom if you were a paying customer – so we bought a beer to split and then used the bathroom. When we got back to the shop, it turns out they had a bathroom we could use there.. There was a delay in the tour start due to the van getting a flat tire. We finally started half hour late and felt so bad for the tour guide. His headset kept cutting out and the van he had to use due to his flat tire was not set up for him. We made it about halfway through the tour before he lost connection for basically the whole time… he did great for what he was dealt.
We got to see a lot on the tour: celebrity houses, places where different movies were set, famous hang out places. We did not see any celebrities but we did get surrounded by a biker gang at a red light that was actually quite intimidating.. Joel and I both weren’t as impressed with the celebrity houses as we thought we would be, they are beautiful but they didn’t seem that impressive. It is all about location, I guess
We drove back to Simi and grabbed some pizza and watched a movie before bed.
Sunday
Monday morning, our last morning, Joel was able to fit in more pickleball and I walked to Starbucks again to read and blog. We got packed up and checked out of the hotel right around noon and went to a DELICIOUS Middle Eastern restaurant for lunch.
After lunch, we started our drive into LA. We stopped at a trailhead just outside of LA and did a 20-ish minute walk. It was beautiful and steep! We saw some mountain bikers fly passed us.. that looked so scary!
We got to the airport.. way earlier than we needed to be (just how I like it!). We dowloaded the first 3 episodes of Lessons in Chemistry and watched the first episode together. It was an uneventful flight home. We watched more episodes and I read a little bit.
We landed pretty late and had to find the shuttle to the Quick Ramp. We waited a bit for the shuttle, which was a bummer, but pretty slick they dropped us right at our car. We drove home and Joel’s mom headed home.
It was so awesome to see the kiddos bright and early, even though we were tired! The smile on Hailey’s face when she walked out of her room was so adorable! “I misseded you!” she said!
The Kiddos!
Joel’s parents were so awesome to watch the kids while we were gone. They kept them busy with picking stuff in the garden and taking them to the zoo. Joel’s mom, unfortunately, had to listen to our neighbors having a party til 2 am both nights of the weekend…
It was a great trip and a great time to get away. The right amount of fun and relaxing and getting to spend time as a couple for our fifth anniversary!