Point Loma

It was Saturday the 8th and it was time for us to end our vacation. All good things must come to an end I suppose. We decided to hit up the Point Loma Lighthouse that afternoon before our flight home that evening.

It was really beautiful being up above it all. The view was spectacular and and so was the hike. So glad I wore tennis shoes that day.

The lighthouse. The old one that is. We toured this house all the way up to the top.

Holla! Holla!

Top of the lighthouse staircase.

As you can tell, these pictures are in random order. Christopher outside the lighthouse.

The "new" lighthouse down the path. We didn't make the journey down. It would have been neat I'm sure, but we had time constraints. Not to mention the hike up didn't look that appealing.

View with all the sail boats. That is Coronado Island in the distance.

Lastly, airport food. We thought it appropriate that we eat some California Pizza Kitchen before we left, as that is exactly what we did 8.5 years ago as we left from our honeymoon. Until next time... oh, PLEASE let next time be soon.

Coronado Beach

Ah, Coronado Island... our little slice of heaven on earth. We honeymooned on Coronado Island and we spent all day riding a tandem bike around the island and countless moments on the beach. I bet it's safe to say this is our favorite place on the planet, besides Spain of course.

Little Sam's is the place to go for all your beach needs. We've rented from them every time we've gone. For the past 9 years they have served us well. LOVE THEM.

Our honeymoon hotel. Across the street from the Del Coronado (this is where we'll stay with the kids when we come back with them) and beaches!

My man decided to hit the boogie boards this particular morning. With all that sunscreen there is no hope of losing that farmers tan. Well, not to mention it never got above 76 degrees the entire week. It's hotter than that during the middle of the night in Texas! The weather was very temperate and we enjoyed the heat and humidity break.

The water was COLD however it was supposed to be fairly warm according to the locals. 69 degrees. Here you can see Christopher trying to get his body used to it.

Came back in to get warm. My own personal Bay Watch hunk!

Gonna catch a wave.

And there he rides... or is that boogies?

Here's a little video of his boogiein'.

Done and coming in to fraternize with his beach babe.

I was livin' the carefree life under a beach umbrella, reading, without interruptions from children or housework. Again, heaven!

San Juan Capistrano / Old Town

Just before we left for San Diego one of Christopher's co-workers suggested we make a trip to San Juan Capistrano. Boy are we glad we did. Our time there more than made up for the nightmare drive on I-5.

Here is the Mission San Juan Capistrano. It was so quaint and I could tell had loads of history, so we decided to make a day of it. Learn all about its history here.

Just inside the walls.

The last dome inside what was the cathedral.

These bells rang morning and night and then again when someone died. Each bell had a purpose and ring; a certain sound for the death of a man, woman or child. This tradition continued into the early 20th century. Crazy awesome!

Christopher sitting in the gardens.

A portrait of San Juan or Capistrano. He went to battle in France holding a flag and a cross...and came back to tell the story. Now that's some faith!!! Original portrait too from the late 1700's.

Beautiful grounds.

Christopher sitting by the fountain... preserved well.

With Koi fish even!

Christopher sneaking in a shot. I do like those flowers behind me. So interesting. The audio tour didn't mention what they were. Anyone know? (Don't look too closely to me however, in any picture for that matter. My medication has not been good to me weight wise.)

The gig was up and now it was silly time.

Me listening to our audio tour. So nice to be able to do that without children nagging me. Enjoying all that the mission had to offer... in other words, not RUSHED!

Christopher thought he might partake of the grapes hanging from the vine. He did take, however, it was not good. It was quite bitter.

I really should have taken quite a bit more pictures of the old ruins and the art in the architecture, however, I failed to do so. I've lost that camera picture taking mojo. We spent more than two hours within a city block and I don't have much to show for it.

My boyfriend sportin' the arch pose.

After the mission we hit up the beaches in San Juan.

Oh, yeah baby! Good times!

We went to Old Town in San Diego that night and celebrated my birthday dinner at one of the many Mexican restaurants. Can't beat a real Mariachi band... you also aren't satisfied by anything on a Mexican restaurants menu after eating at Jacintos in Provo or Posados / Mercados here in Texas (which Jacintos was modeled after).

Mariachi band playing for the couple beside us. It was loud but quite enjoyable!

While in Old Town I found some great stuff shopping wise. Unfortunately we went to find the Mormon Battalion Center and it was no where to be found. Seriously, we were stumped. It wasn't until we got home and again checked the website only to find out it was closed for remodeling. That would explain it. They should have posted that somewhere there... that would have helped.

In -N- Out & Monster Trucks

Even with all there was to explore in the way of restaurants, I just HAD to make it to In-N-Out a couples times.

Can't beat the prices and the burgers are really good too.

Making me hungry again! Christopher and I think the burgers are tasty, although we do tend to lean more towards our local favorite, Brady's Burgers. They have the best burgers! The patties are definitely thicker. Fries are better too, especially our fav, the sweet potato fries! YUM! Either way, it's a great treat for us since I only make turkey burgers at home.

Christopher and I realize these are good burgers, but come on!! Check out this video of our line we had to wait in!

And lastly, on our way to Trader Joes for a little shopping we came across this truck. Christopher was like a little boy in awe and we just had to get a picture. Caden wants to have this picture for his car collection. Remind me to pull over if I come across this beast on the road, especially while driving the Honda!

You could run over a small car or large human and maybe think he hit a speed bump.

Seaport Village

Loved all the sights, sounds and shopping at Seaport Village. This is the only picture we got although we went there twice during our stay. A must see if in San Diego.

On our way there we took a few pictures. Like of this one above which was in the artsy district of San Diego.

The famous "Star of India" maritime boat that is docked along Harbor Rd. There is a museum on board.

I so wanted to take a Seal Tour on this truck/boat. The tour goes both on land and off into the Pacific. Christopher would have none of it!

There is sooo much to do and see in San Diego, however, we tried to stick to the sights, shopping, food and beaches. Zoos, Legoland, Disney and such we left for when we bring the kids sometime in the future.

San Diego Temple

Christopher and I were sealed for time and all eternity within these walls 9 years ago January 19th. We were super excited to be back and take in a couple of sessions and sealings and in a sense "renew our wedding vows".

This is what we found upon trying to enter the gates.

True bummer as our stay in San Diego was the 3rd through the 8th. Not a chance we were going to make it this trip. What are the odds?!? We have no kids and all the time in the world but failed to check on the temples website to see if it were open!

We took pictures outside the gates of our disappointment.

And then flat-out made out like newlyweds for the sake of it! Again, good times in La Jolla!