CALI Baby! (Caution detail and picture over-load)

After graduation and the move we settled in for a whole two days and then packed right back up and started our California get away. Our parents were SO very nice and let us borrow their trusty car so we wouldn’t get stranded or die of heat in one of ours. We picked it up on Monday along with Liz, the best GPS lady voice ever, stayed the night and set off on Tuesday morning. We made it to Vegas and got the best start to our vacation ever….the Excalibur upgraded our $35 room to a SUITE!! We couldn’t believe it! We were on the top floor with a king size bed and a Jacuzzi tub! There was valet parking and they brought our bags up to our room I felt like we were livin’ pretty good! We stuffed ourselves at the buffet and then set off for the Strip. That road is a lot longer than it looks when your walkin! Don’t judge us too much but I gambled for the first time…and I am a pro! I put in my first dollar and won $15!! We must have looked pretty silly cause I thought buzzers would start going off and coins would start falling our of the machine-still pretty exciting thought! Ter didn’t have much luck :( And the heat holy smokes it was nuts! All in all it was the perfect starter to our trip. $15. 75 woo hoo!!!Our pretty hotel-ExcaliburThe water show at the Bellagio-well worth the waitOur SUPER tired feet ready to hop into the Jacuzzi tubModeling our spiffy robes and fluffy slippers courtesy of our upgrade!M & M factory was awesome-I've never seen so many M & M's in my life!
Wednesday we woke up and headed for San Diego. We made it there with the help of Liz and headed for the beach. We ended up on what we dubbed the “ghetto beach” it was dirty and had some interesting people but our beaches later totally made up for it. Afterwards we ate at Red Lobster here’s a shout out for their Lobster Spinach Artichoke dip-try it you’ll love it!

Thursday was Zoo day we woke up early and started out. Let me first just say that that place is Ginormous!!! We thought we’d stay for maybe 3-4 hours but ended up staying 6-7! We got to see everything we wanted and even got lost in the monkey trail part-not so great part of the day! After the Zoo we went out to Coronado-such a beautiful place!! The bridge to get there is crazy and the beaches there are amazing! We ate at a cute little BBQ place and then enjoyed the beach for the rest of the night. It was so fun to be out on that little island. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy our time together and not have to worry about school or work. I felt like the luckiest girl ever strolling the beach with my hubby-thanks for such a great week sweetie!

Our two favorites- I love hippos!Coronado beach-beautiful!

Friday was time for Sea World! Started out early again and began our day with a bang with the Shamu show. All the shows were great but there’s just something about Free Willy that’s the best! We saw dolphins, otters, pet stringrays, saw these crazy sea lions that acted just like dog and went on a shark escalator. We went to the artic and saw polar bears and "baby beluga from the deep blue sea"...(anyone?) Sea World was a blast!

We were able to stop by the San Diego temple but found out it was closed for remodeling or cleaning. At least one side wasn't completely covered! This temple is absolutely gorgeous!The whole week had been cloudy and a little over cast all week so that was a bit of a bummer but I don’t think we would have been able to handle the heat! On our way home on Saturday we stopped at the outlets in Barstow and stepped out the car and thought we were going to melt! I’m so thankful I live in Idaho!

Saturday (Happy 1 year Anniversary to us!!) we stayed in Ely, Nevada to break up our trip. The whole week was an anniversary/graduation celebration-I want a week to celebrate it every year!! This year has been the best of my life. Thanks for loving me sweetie and letting me be me. I couldn’t ask for a better best friend or husband. I’ll love you always and forever!

Finally we made it back to Twin changed cars and showed off all our treasures and finally made it back to Pokey-Home Sweet Home!