San Diego!

Warning: Long post ahead!

I was lucky enough to go down to San Diego last week to spend time with my best friend Ashley. She and I have been friends since our sophomore year of high school - just over 17 years ago. We've been great friends, roommates, bridesmaids, long distance pals, and nearly neighbors over those many years. I've known her husband Brent for nearly as long - 13 years. They are like family to me.

Earlier this year, when I was boo-hooing to Brad about how he gets to go places while I stay home, he suggested that I plan a girl's weekend away. Then it turned out that Brent and Ash were heading down to San Diego for some TDY this fall and so my plan was hatched. Fun girl times, yummy food, and sunshine were in the works! A few hitches along the way: me worrying that there would be nothing "new" for me to see/do while down there (since we've lived in the area twice), Aaron coming down with a fever the day before I left, and me coming down with a sinus infection the day before I left.

Luckily, Ash and I came up with a list of several things to check out that I'd never seen before. (It turns out there are A LOT of things I've never seen or done while in San Diego!) Brad came home a bit early on Wednesday so that we wouldn't infect my neighbor Mary and her kids with whatever was causing Aaron's fever. And well, the right half of my face was NOT happy while we were landing the plane, but thanks to lots of ibuprofen, I made it though the weekend without too much suffering.

Wednesday afternoon was mostly travel, but after arriving in SD, Ash and I stopped by Pat & Oscar's to pick up some of their yummy breadsticks and marinara sauce. The perfect late night snack - plus we were reminded of the MANY times we ate breadsticks and sauce during our freshman year at USU. Good times! :)

Late Thursday morning (no waking up early for this vacationer) we headed north to Torrey Pines State Reserve. We took a small hike that showed us beautiful views of the ocean as well as the native Torrey Pines and sandstone cliffs. Here are a few pictures from our hike:

Lunch on Thursday was super yummy Rubio's! Fish tacos and salsa verde for me!! Mmmm, mmmm, good! After Brent left for work, Ash and I headed over to Balboa Park and visited the Japanese Friendship garden. (Awww! How fitting!) It was small, but beautiful, and we fully enjoyed the hour we spent there. I found some grass that I'm hoping to plant in our yard (if it will grow here) and we both equally admired the cool rocks they had amid the plants. Then we checked out an outdoor exhibit of different globes decorated to represent something about being "green". Some were really neat, some strange, but they were all interesting.

That night we made a trip to Target so that I could stock up on Kleenix and purchase some hair dye. I wanted to color my roots blonde to help me make it another month or so before I get my hair done again. We ate In-n-Out Burger for dinner. My plan: to eat only things I couldn't get here!

Early Friday morning I woke up with major face pain from my stupid infection. I called the nurse hotline and was told to basically keep doing what I was doing in order to feel better. I realized I was just going to have to be especially vigilant about taking ibuprofen. But back to vacationing...

Friday morning we went to IKEA and had lunch there. The San Diego store is a lot smaller than the one here in Renton. I was surprised because I didn't remember it being much smaller. Oh, and they use a different gravy on their meatballs and serve mashed potatoes instead of whole reds. I know, I'm weird to even care.

Early Friday afternoon, Ash and I went and got some of the best pedicures ever! We went to a place where I used to go and get my hair done. Not only did they have super comfy chairs, but our pedicurist did an amazing job and she worked on both of us at the same time! Wow! Our chairs faced each other and she rolled back and forth between us on her little chair. Ash went for blue polish, while I requested purple that is nearly black. I'm pretty sure I just got black, but I am happy nonetheless.

Then we headed back to Balboa Park. We went to a little museum (I think it was called the Timkin museum) there (for free!) and then to a botanical house (also free!). The museum had some really neat pieces of art, as well as a small kimono exhibit that was amazing. I loved looking at the plants in the botanical house. There are so many interesting and wonderful plants in this world! If you can't tell what I'm gesturing at, it's a baby pineapple. Cool!

For dinner that night we hit California Pizza Kitchen, then went to Bath and Body Works to get some cream for our feet. We wanted to maintain our awesome pedicures. I also found a new sweater at Old Navy. Then it was home to color my hair and watch a movie. I was pretty sad with the way my hair turned out - way too orange - but we put some more color on, added some more time, and got slightly better results. So no tears, but I wasn't super happy either. I just really need to find someone who I love for both cut and color, but doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. (Any suggestions??) Oh, and we watched PS I Love You. It was okay. Some funny scenes, but overall, not the best.

Saturday morning dawned just as beautiful and warm as the previous days. Aaah, sunshine! After a slow morning and a quick errand, we headed off to PF Changs to have lunch with Brent. Yummy, yum, yum, yum! We got there before the lunch crowd had hit and so we didn't have a wait at all. If any of you know PF Changs, no wait is practically unheard of! Then we stopped off at The Cheesecake Factory to pick out some dessert to save for later that night. Mmmm, cheesecake!

Ash and I decided that we had to do one really touristy thing while I was there and so the Seal tour was it. It's a lot like the Duck tour they do here in Seattle, but warmer, and probably dryer too. Anyway, it was a lot of fun! We had a great 1st mate/tour guide. She had lots of interesting information to share and lots of funny/corny jokes too. Our hair got a little crazy from the wind, but hey, that's all part of the fun! We got to see some sea lions and several sea birds. We got to see some C Tractors (I thought they were sea tractors until I saw their name printed on their sides). There were two of them and they were pushing one of the big navy boats out of dock and towards the ocean. That was pretty cool. We had great views of Point Loma and Coronado. We sort of got to see where Brent was working. We couldn't get too close though, government security and all. It was a fun little "cruise". Afterwards we finished up our souvenier shopping there in Seaport Village.

Then it was off for the big finale dinner of....

round two of Rubio's fish tacos! I just can't get enough of them, or the salsa verde. So good!!

Sunday morning it was time for me to head home. I was actually missing the kids and Brad at this point so it was a good thing. I thought I was missing Aaron a bit a few days prior, until I called and heard him crying in the background. Then I realized that getting a break was a good thing. I love my kiddos, but I had such a great time just being Court and not being Mom. It was a good break. I can't wait until Brad and I can take some vacations with just the two of us. I'm also excited to go to San Diego again with the kids. I feel like I discovered so many new, fun things to see and do down there!

Thanks again Ash for being such a good friend and helping me enjoy my time away! Thanks again Brent for being such a good friend too and letting me monopolize Ash for a few days. Thanks Brad for being such a great husband and a great father. The kids were all well fed and taken care of while I was gone. The house was no more messy than when I left it (I've been having pile problems lately) and Aaron's fever was better too. You are the best!!!