California Vacay

Hey everyone!  My first post as a married woman.  Holy cow.  Crazy.  It's weird though; Brian and I agree, it feels like we've been married for ages.  It's kind of a cool feeling.

We just got back from California a few days ago, and we decided it would be kind of fun to share our adventure with you!  We'll tell you about places we went, what we did, and what we thought of it all.  Pictures (sometimes, with the permission of Brian) included.

Coco's Restaurant and Bakery

 

 Well we really liked it!  This place is awesome for anyone who loves breakfast food.  Their portions are huge--and it was really good food too!  We really enjoyed it.  For those of you from Utah, a worthy comparison is Village Inn.

Mimi's Cafe

I know, I know, we have these in Utah too, but it was super good!  I'd been craving a good, home-cooked, sit-down meal and Brian had been craving a nice big burger, and we both got exactly what we wanted.  My salmon even came with an appetizer salad and dessert, which we shared.  The dessert we got was bread pudding (that's what he is holding in the picture) and actually, it wasn't all that great.  Neither of us like raisins much, and the bread was stuffed full of them.  Aside from that it was pretty good, and everything that came before the dessert was phenomenal.  Seriously.

 

Disneyland!!

 Yes, we had to go to Disneyland!!  I've actually never been before, so it was my first time.  Note to first-timers:  DO NOT go on New Year's Eve!  (Although, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't change our New Year's Eve for anything!  New Year's Eve at Disneyland is pretty awesome, but only if you're okay with huge lines and lots and lots of people.



 

 

California Adventure:  Soarin' Over California

We knew we wouldn't make it to all the rides in either park, so we did a few from each park.  The two that we hit at California Adventure:  Soarin' Over California and Tower of Terror.  Soarin' Over California is super cool!  You're in a simulated hang-gliding tour of California, so you see all its awesomeness laid out in front of you.  It's seriously awesome.

California Adventure:  Tower of Terror

...Yeah, I wasn't so much a fan of this one.  I don't like that butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling that you get when falling form great heights, so I really can't understand what people love about this ride or rides like it.  Brian, on the other hand, loved it, and so does everyone else that I talk to, so chances are, I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't.

Submarine Adventure (thing...)

 This one is my favorite picture of us.  We took it while we were waiting in line for two-hours-plus for the submarine adventure ride thing (that I can't actually remember the name of).  It's an extension of Finding Nemo.  It was really cute.  Not particularly exciting or engaging, but very cute.  Definitely not worth waiting for--at least not as long as we did.  Our advice:  If there's a line, skip it. 

Now here's some videos!!  This first one is of the newest addition to Disneyland; a Star Wars attraction called the Jedi Academy.  Little kids are called up and trained in the ways of the Force by a Master Jedi, and then they get to confront either Darth Vader or Darth Maul.  It was the coolest thing there, pretty much; Brian wished he was younger so he could learn.  I picked the smallest and cutest kid up there to film.  

This one--believe it or not--is part of the pre-midnight New Year's Eve dance party that was going on all night long down the main street of Disneyland.  This particular film clip is of Mickey and Minnie Mouse dancing to--wait for it--Gangnam Style!!  So priceless.  So awesome.  So....just...beyond words.

San Diego Temple

We took a long drive one day down to San Diego down the Pacific Coast Highway.  If you have a day to kill, do this!!  It was really fun to drive down next to the coast and see the surfers on the beaches, and cruise through all the cute little beach towns.  It's also a very relaxing trip.  Highly recommend.  

Laguna Beach

If you are planning to go to the beach, I highly recommend Laguna beach.  On our drive to San Diego, we passed a ton of beaches but they were all crowded with surfers and beach goers with their dogs.  All super good beaches and super fun, but Laguna was nice because it wasn't nearly as crowded.  It was really nice. 

Brian looking super awesome in front of the sun and sea

More of Laguna--so nice!!

 

Wild Buffalo Wings

Sports bar!  Brian was kind of embarrassed about bringing me here 'cause of the atmosphere but it was kind of fun.  They had the Lakers vx. 76ers game on almost every screen (that's what he's looking at; he loves sports) and it was fun to watch the locals get way into it.  Also the food was awesome.  You can choose what spices go on your wings!  They don't have to be so hot they burn your taste buds off!  (I was really excited about that.)  Mine were lemon pepper and they were so good.





There was another place we tried while we were here but I didn't get a picture of it; it was called Rubio's.  It was an awesome little Mexican food joint that we saw all over the place.  I think their specialty is fish tacos; we got a steak burrito.  They use super fresh ingredients, and the burrito wasn't greasy--it just seemed so simple and fresh, it was awesome.  So you should probably try that place too.  :)

Anyway, I'm signing off for now.  More to come soon--books we read, recipes we try, etc.  Stay tuned!