California Vacation ...

We planned a fun vacation for our anniversary this year. We stayed at Hotel La Jolla, the same hotel we stayed at for Sean and Marsha's wedding in 2007. They remodeled it from head to toe. Our room was on the 10th floor, the highest you can go before you hit the restaraunt ontop. We had a great view of the Pacific Ocean and you could even see the view from our bathroom! The shower had three glass sides and you could see right through it into the bedroom from the bathroom.



After getting settled in, we walked on the beach and had dinner at a little pizza place. Weather was great in the 70s, and a little overcasted. We weren't missing the 110s back home.

San Diego Zoo ...

Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo. We rode the skyline and the double decker bus tour. The park is so big and some parts like a maze. Luckily we only got lost once, but we were lost for a goof 15 minutes. I'm glad we had comfy shoes since there was so much walking.












After the Zoo we had the hotel car (made me feel so fancy!) drop us off downtown La Jolla. We went in and out of the shops, walked down to the beach and had a nice dinner over looking the ocean.

SeaWorld ...

Wednesday we went to Seaworld for the day of our anniversary. After the Beluga Whale Interaction Program we enjoyed the shows and animals before we headed to dinner with Shamu. It was more like Linner, since it was at 4 o'clock.

It was a nice buffet, my favorite was the oriental chicken salad, so yummy. The dessert bar was my favorite. It was full of all kinds of cookies, strawberries, whipped cream, brownies, and six different kinds of cake!



We then played with the dolphins and watched the Shamu show. The show isn't like it used to be. The trainers no longer get into the water and it seems all the whales do is try and get the first few rows as wet as possible.





After SeaWorld, we enjoyed a few appetizers and drinks ontop of the hotel. We had the BEST calamari EVER !

Beluga Whale Interaction ...

A few weeks before we left for our trip, we booked the Beluga Whale Interaction Program. We were thinking the whales were "like" leather lol.

We were booked at 11am and the park opened at 10am. So we had a little bit to roam the park before we had to meet. We wanted to go look at the Belugas before we got into the water with them. We watched them for a good twenty minutes and their size began to overwhelm us. They are such massive creatures.

After making ourselves antsy we walked over to check in and wait for the rest of our group. The program began with us meeting a walrus named Obey. We got to pet and feed him.





We then met a giant polar bear. We couldn't get close like the walrus, because they are considered so dangerous. No on is ever allowed to be near them unless they are put under for a medical reason or with steel bars between them. They feed them through a special slot, so no mishaps ever happen.



Finally we headed to our own personal locker room, each room had our names on them. Inside we had our wetsuit and booties. Shower and all ameneties were also there for afterwards.



After changing it was Beluga Time! We had the oppurtunity to meet two whales, perform tricks and even get kissed. After the water they took us to another tank where their 1 year old baby beluga. She was so cute and small.

Safari Park ...

Thursday we went to the Safari Park, we didn't plan on doing any extra activities, but when we got there we ended talking to a greeter and she persuaded us to signing up for the Safari Caravan. It was so worth it and so memorable. We rode into the animal exhibits and got to feed the rhinos and giraffs.





After we had a nice lunch and just roamed the park to watch the animals.

Vineyards & Wineries ...

While we were in California we spontaniously went to two wineries.

The first was Belle Marie. It was a small winery ontop of a hill that we saw from the freeway. Since it was our first we didn't know what to expect and we had nothing to compare it to, so we thought it was a nice place.



Our second winery was also a vineyard, so they grew and processed the grapes. It was so much more of a winery experience than Belle Marie. The tasting included 6 different wines of our choice.

The bartenders were very nice, personalble, and friendly. We shared laughs with them on behalf of Justins expense, since Justin isn't that into wine. It was in good fun and we all were laughing together when one of the bartenders brought three extra reds for him to try their "dryness". Justin asked if he was trying to kill him and the bartender laughed and said yes.

But Justin then fell in love with a port red dessert wine that we also got to try extra,which was paired with chocolate. We ended up leaving with three bottles and a pair of wine glasses (which we weren't suppost to get because of low inventory, but we were awesome customers).

3rd Wedding Anniversary ...

LEATHER !

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary last Wednesday. We were in California, so we exchanged gifts the night before we left.

I had a photo album made out of leather with the state of Alaska burned on the front. Inside I had printed pictures from our Alaska trip from last summer. It turned out great and it looks great as a coffee table book.



Justin outdid himself as usual and spoiled me rotten. He got me a new Juicy Couture purse with leather handles and a kindle that came with a leather case. He defiantly thinks outside the box when he goes by the traditional anniversary gifts. He even surprised me with a new Michael Kors watch. We made a quick stop at the outlet mall in Victorville to stretch our legs, and lo and behold he had an alternative motive.

Happy Birthday Alexis ...

It was our friends daughters birthday yesterday. Alexis turned 8 years old, so Clarence and Natalie had a nice princess themed birthday party for her.

The best part was her giant princess jumper. First she convinced Justin to wobble in and jump with her and after a little bit, the two of them pulled me in too. It defiantly was a lot of fun and I highly recommend them for any little ones birthday. I think all of the adults had as much fun as the kids.

Photo Booth ...

In July, work had a employee appreciation week. It was filled with all kinds of goodies, games, and miscellaneous stuff to appreciate us in the EDR. One of them was a shutter photo booth. Justin and I both had the same lunch on the Friday and had a little fun being an alter ego ...

La Madres Trail Round 2 ...

Last time we tried doing La Madre trail, Jager got a boo boo, so we tried again on this set of days off.

We woke up nice and early, had some breakfast, and headed out in the hummer on the 4x4 road to the trail start.

We made it up to the springs where there was wildlife everywhere. Blue Jays, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Tadpoles, and oodles of bugs.







We tried finding the cabin and mine further up, but we had no luck. Back onto google looking at the aerial maps for next time.

On the way down we found a little gaurdian angel laying on the ground. We took it as a sign, since its only a couple days away from Marietta's birthday. I picked it up and secured it on my camera case.



After La Madre we continued on the Rocky Gap road up further into the canyon. The views were beautiful and peaceful, since no one else was up there.

Beluga Whales ...

I am super duper excited! Justin booked us for the Beluga Whale Interaction Program at Sea World for when we are there for our wedding anniversary!


Enter the water (temperatures can get as low as 50 degrees) right beside our graceful, white beluga whales. Touch and feed them as animal trainers share some techniques they use to communicate with these warm-hearted residents of the cold Arctic waters. Few places in the world offer such an up-close, unique interaction with these animals. This rare opportunity is limited to just a few guests each day.

Beluga Interaction includes:

•Trainer led in-water interaction with a Beluga Whale
•Behind-the Scenes tour of Wild Arctic to include the walrus, polar bear and beluga habitats
•SeaWorld provided wetsuit and booties for in-water interaction
•Shower facility with provided soap, shampoo, hair dryers and a personal locker
•Photographers will be available during the in-water interaction with photos available afterwards
•Souvenir towel

I have been googling, youtubing, looking at pictures for this program for the past couple of days, cause I am so excited. I can't wait to ge a kiss from a beluga!