The past two weeks...

Whew...so glad to be home and getting back into a routine! Jared & I spent the last two weeks traveling in California and Mexico. It was a wonderful trip and we feel so blessed to have been able to take it before baby #2 comes and also knowing that Jayne was so well cared for by my parents.

Our trip in a nutshell...

Day #1- Flew to San Francisco where it was FREEZING and very overcast/foggy. Took the BART to Oakland to get our rental car (which took forever since there was a "police issue" and they made us get off our train two stops before ours and check the train, send it on without us and made us wait for 30 minutes until they let another train come get us). Drove all around the Bay area, over the Golden Gate Bridge, went to Battery Park, Pier 39, etc. But we were in bed by 6:30 west coast time!!

Day #2- Began our drive down to Los Angeles. Started from Half Moon Bay and stopped whenever we felt like it (small beaches, overlooks, etc) Took walks on beaches in the freezing cold, took in breathtaking views, drove the beautiful 16 mile highway through Pebble Beach. It was so much fun! We really took our time, it took us two hours to go 40 miles b/c we stopped so much! We stayed overnight in San Luis Obispo...an area my family used to stay at when I was little.

Day #3- We continued our drive to LA. We wanted to drive around Hollywood & Beverly Hills but traffic at 2pm on a Friday was horrendous and so we just headed to Anaheim where I showed Jared my old houses. We were to our friends, Jim & Chana's, by about 4pm where we relaxed and had a yummy cookout.

Day #4- Took back rental car in the morning and spent some time with Jim showing us around. Went to Angels Stadium and then back to the house for lunch. After lunch Jim, Chana, Jared & I headed to California Adventure and Disneyland for the day. I felt like a little kid and had so much fun. I couldn't ride a ton of rides, but did what I could and just had a great time. Our big thing that day was going to the "Members only, Club 33" for dinner. Its a secret place in Disney located in New Orleans Square. The door has a "33" on it and unless you saw someone going in, you would think its just a part of the surroundings. Dinner was AMAZING! You're on the second floor, overlooking the square and having a five course meal that is terrific. Club 33 is the only place in Disney that they serve alcohol, you can watch the water show from the balcony and almost no one can see you. Its very exclusive (ie- expensive!!) and a once in a life time thing for us. So worth it!! We closed the park down and didn't get home until after 1am! (Thank you J & C for taking such good care of us!!!)

Day #5-11 We got on our cruise ship for a 7 day cruise to Mexico! Pretty uneventful...met the four other people sitting with us at dinner and really liked them, which is rare to like everyone at your table. We all got along so well we hung out multiple times outside of dinner. The boys all karaoke'd and did a great job!! We went dancing one night under the stars, hit the midnight buffet...it was so fun! We did something different at each port. In Cabo San Lucas we took a water taxi to a beach for a few hours. The beach was packed so we walked over some rocks and found a private beach with an awesome view. It was so fun...but the water was FREEZING!! It literally took your breath away. In Mazatlan we took an open air taxi tour. Our tour guide was wonderful and explained everything to us and stopped for us to see old churches and markets. I even held a HUGE iguana! In Puerta Vallarta we took a taxi into Old Town and walked for hours just taking in the sights.

Although the trip was very long, it was much needed and something we wont get to do often over the next 10-20 years I'm sure! I'm glad we took advantage of it now. And it helps knowing your baby is so well cared for by doting grandparents. We truly didn't worry about her at all. I think we worried more about my parents being tired or overwhelmed =) Thank you mom and dad...we couldn't have done this trip without you!!

- T -