I can't really describe the feelings/weirdness I had walking through airport security alone. No kids. No strollers. No diaper bag. No bubbles, stickers, or endless supply of fruit snacks to keep little mouths quiet. Not even my hubby's hand to hold. Just ME. And my carry on. I felt like I was forgetting something. Or everything!
I was off to Dana Point, CA to visit one of my dearest friends!! (Thank you Brett, for granting this birthday wish--I'm a brat!) Katie had to be responsible and work...for a few hours the first day. So, I had some alone time. What I loved about this trip was we didn't really "plan" anything.... just did whatever sounded fun at the moment!
Oh, and I realized that when I don't have kids to attend to, my camera is in my hand at all times! TONS OF PICS!!
Thursday I went on a morning run...which ended up being more around 10:30, (because the only schedule I had to work around was my own). Bad idea! HOTTT! The view made up for the heat though! Dear Ocean, I've missed you so! You need to be a part of my life more often!
I came "home" (such a cute apt she has)...
did a little stretching, ate breakfast and did some reading at this cute little bistro on the back patio. :) Katie picked me up for lunch, a few errands, then back to the house for a change of clothes.
While Katie saw a couple more clients, I did this.....
...and this at Salt Creek Beach, Dana Point. SO RELAXING!
I died and went to heaven that night....ever heard of Sno2go?! Let me break it down for you: shaved ice (naturally i went with tiger's blood), "stuffed" with soft-serve vanilla ice cream, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, and topped with whipped cream. SEE, (sugar coma first, then) HEAVEN!!
Friday we were a bit more adventurous...well, we tried to be anyway! We woke up early (still have sleepy eyes) and headed to Laguna Beach trying to make "low tide" to get over to another little beach where there's awesome shells and sea glass. We were a bit late and the tide was rising so we couldn't make it to the spot we were planning.
Instead we hung out for a while and snapped a few pics. So gorgeous here!
Whale watching was calling my name....I've never seen a whale in the wild. And after our "tour" I still haven't!! haha!
We did, however, come across a pod of dolphins that were very active and so fun to watch! They swam right along with our boat for quite a while! One even jumped right up in front and splashed us...of course I was too involved in watching I didn't get a pic of that!
We got rainchecks to come back another time....they "guarantee" to see whales, if not, refund! So....maybe in the future I'll see some! :)
We went to the Rainbow sandals outlet in San Clemente and I purchased my first pair of Rainbow flip flops :) All I know is for $40 bucks those flip flops better last forever! haha! (Everyone says they do)!
Friday night we went back to Laguna to try to make low tide... this time we were racing against the sun! Here's what it looked like when we arrived. That rock face in the right of the picture was the first obstacle. We hiked around it...
...into this little cove (which is semi-filled at low tide) and totally covered when not (kinda freaky). Here's Katie helping her friend Becky up. Sidenote: I started up it myself at first, (obviously not thinking) my hand slipped and I fell, landing on my feet....on boulders. OUCHIE! Katie, then boosted me up and I was a gimp the rest of the trip.
We walked along the face of this CLIFF. I am too old/scaredy-cat for this stuff! There were a couple times I really was like, 'what the crap?!'
But, when we got over to "Crescent" it was totally worth it!! Funky shells everywhere....
No sand, just a "beach" of shells and sea glass, and tide pools!
I felt like a kid! So fun to gather up these cool treasures! See those stairs in the background.... yeah, it would have been cool if we knew the people with the private/locked staircase up the face of the cliff!
In the time we were there (maybe 30 min??) We watched the most breath-taking sunset I'd ever seen! It was SO perfect!
Probably my favorite pic of the night...
Even though my feet were dying from my little fall incident... I was so glad we went!! It was a cool adventure that I think only "locals" might know about and I loved it!
Saturday we slept in (I won't tell how late)! Then headed to Three Arch Bay. I love that Katie has some sweet connections and is on the "list" at the gate to get in here! Our home for the day. Really. Like for 6 hours. If we hadn't run out of food, we might have stayed longer! ha!
While we laid there, Katie kept looking at me, making sure I wasn't bored. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I think in past life I might have been a beach bum! I could do this. all day. everyday.
Where 3 Arch Bay get's it's name...the arches in the rocks.
Thank you Kate for getting a picture of me falling....again.
Being dorks. We're good at it.
Oh hi, cute (not so) "little" cottage. Can you be mine one day?
This was probably the most relaxing vacay I've ever been on. Just what I needed. So rejuvenating, and a bestie to share all the fun with!
To sum it up....HEAVENLY!
Thank you to Katie, who let me crash at your pad and showed me all the local fun at Dana Point. To Bridger, who scored me some super cheap tix to get there. To Momma Max and Brett for splitting up kid duties while I played and to Brett who let me slack on my motherly duties for an amazing weekend away! It was perfect!! (and I'm already wondering when I can go back?!)
