places I love

Well it’s been one crazy busy week! Less than 8 weeks to go! Jay and I decided that it would be a nice idea to get out and about. We headed to sunny Los Angeles on Saturday morning! First we stopped at the rental car place and then we were on our way. We arrived at what was supposed to be our motel in California at around 7pm. We were surprised to find out that hotwire.com had messed up somehow and our reservations had been canceled and the motel was overbooked. We called hotwire and they found us another place a few miles away… which was actually kind of an upgrade in comparison. The motel we were supposed to stay at didn’t look very inviting and the extended stay at least looked clean. We unpacked our very light amount of luggage and then headed to dinner.

We ate dinner at Ruby’s even though there was a 40 minute wait. It didn’t feel like it was that long because we were visiting with Jay’s parents and catching up. Once we were seated we dug in and prepared for our next adventure… NAPLES Christmas lights! It’s a tradition that we’ve decided to keep. This was our 3rd year walking about and seeing all of the lights. It didn’t disappoint! Everything was lit up to the max.

The next day we woke up and decided to get breakfast. As we were driving around our car was making an awful clunking sound. We soon found out that part of the bumper panel was falling off. We had to drive up to LAX to get a new car. They were slow and not super helpful but about 45 minutes later they got us into a new car. We decided because a good portion of our day was spent at the rental car place that we were going to stay an extra day. The previous night we were given a coupon for $25 off a hotel stay so it helped. We booked a double tree by the Citadel Outlet mall. When we arrived they greeted us with warm chocolate chip cookies and coffee. We headed to our room and decided to take a nap. Because it was already dark out we decided not to go to the beach as planned. Instead we went to the Urban Light sculpture that is right in front of the LA Museum of Art or down the street from the tar pits. It was beautiful and there were a ton of people taking photos. It was a little crowded at some times but we were still able to snap a few shots.

After a quick bite to eat we were out and about again. One of our favorite thing about LA is all of the things there is to see. We saw some more art… and then visited the Seinfeld apartment, Doc Browns house, and Marty McFly’s High school. We had a lot of fun exploring before we decided to go back and enjoy the fluffy hotel room. It was nice just to watch tv and relax after our night of exploration.

After a good nights rest we awoke somewhat early to visit the outlet mall where we saw lots of tiny clothes. Jay even picked out the cutest Moose outfit! If we have a girl then we’ll buy her a bow she can wear with it!

As we headed further and further south we decided to stop for some dinner at Carrows and then head to the beach by sunset. It was nice and quiet with a slight breeze. The sun was coming down over the pier. Some lady offered us a puppy but Jay pulled me away before I got too carried away. We walked along the beach until we hit the pier where we watched the sun rest just below the pacific end. It was beautiful. We both enjoyed our little walk…and then it was time to head home! It was the perfect way to end our trip!