On our way to Zion

At this point, our plan only included returning our rental car to the Denver Airport by 6:30PM on Saturday, but not sure what adventures awaited us on the way... Grand Canyon? Skiing? Tijuana?

Robin & Rob steered us away from Tijuana (We were only 15 miles away, but safety changes dramatically as you edge towards the border). We were sad not to use our passports, but thankful for the adventure we got to have.

We were also thinking possible Grand Canyon, but a few things deterred us from there. 1) My parents were going just a few days after us and it would have been sad to just barely miss them & we would get to see their pictures. 2) We learned that it would have taken us a half day to drive in and then not be able to see everything we want 3) We mapped a route through southern Utah that took us through Zion National Park, a one of a kind treat! 

We will take a trip to the Grand Canyon at some point... anyone want to go with us? 

The water was FREEZING!!

So, out of the zoo we headed North towards the La Jolla area of San Diego to say good bye to the beach for the last time. 

Thanks to the iPhone we found a route that wound our way towards Las Vegas and passed through the Torrey Pines Golf Course (only a slight 30 minute detour)-- 2PM and about 8 hours of driving to go. 

Heading back East... still a lot to do!

In the OB neighborhood of San Diego credit cards are almost non-exitant and chain stores are no where to be found. It is truly a gem. So, Robin & Ron walked us down the street to a quaint beach cafe for breakfast. We ordered 'to go' and walked another block to sit on some benches overlooking the Pacific Ocean. What a glorious morning!

We had quite a bit to accomplish before heading East so we needed the nourshiment... Matt's breakfast burrioto was stuffed with everything from avacados to french fries and my breakfast scramble mixed potatoes, eggs, and veggies! Yum!

See my tip toes :) I keep trying to get taller.

Life time friends!
Breath taking views
Delicious food!

After breakfast we headed to the San Diego Zoo. Thankfully Robin had some day passes to spare for Matt and I. That was a big treat since we only had an hour and half to spend before moving to the next location.

We arrived at the zoo at 10:30AM and picked up a map. One of the fun things for me to do is plan... so I devised a route for us to make it through the entire park and be out the door by noon. -- We did it... jumped in the car at 12:15 after seeing all of the exhibits. Seriously, a whirlwind, but so glad we did it.

The camels were my favoriate. They had a bunch of different kinds.

Real Elphants!

We can't go anywhere with out Matt asking me to climb on something for a photo op!

On our way out of the park we rode the Sky Train back to the Entrance. 

On a mission! 

Lions, Tigers & Bears Oh MY!

Wednesday's adventures Continue

What should we get into next? 

Can you tell how windy it was? 

I needed to add another jacket before we headed down the Venice Boardwalk. 

Its hard to put into words what you see walking down Venice beach, but I enjoyed the people watching.

One thing that stood out was all of the places to get diagnosed for a prescription of medical marijuana. All you have to do is pay $40, check a few boxes on a 'medical assessment' and there you go to get your toke on!

We opted to pass at this point... and headed down the Pacific Coast Highway towards San Diego.

It took way too long to get out of the LA area around 4PM, so we eaked down "The 1" and stopped for some breathtaking photo opts...
Laguna Beach at Sunset melted our hearts (and thats a good thing, because my patience was wearing out and an irritating fight was just about getting ready to start)... something about the awe of creation (and the chance to pee) brought me out of my funk.

Then, onto San Diego where we met up with Robin and Ron. Robin and I were roommates when Matt and I met and hadn't seen each other in years. We got to meet her fiance and they graciously hosted us at the last minute and showed us a great time in OB Sand Diego.

I think this night's Cerviche tacos actually competed with the butter poached lobster from Chicago.

After dinner were spent the night hanging out their brand new hot tub! Another amazing evening full of great conversation and reconnecting with good friends. But, we must press on to the next destination...

Food Truck App

One thing that you might not know, is how much my husband loves food trucks... the few twitter accounts he follow include 2 friends and 3 food trucks (Klausie's Pizza!)... so, we discovered a new App: "roaminghunger"-- bad news for the Raleigh folks-- none of the trucks in our area show up, but in LA there are lots! 

After a slow morning and a Rowe stroll down Rodeo Drive we started to get hungry... lets check the app... then look directly to the left... GRILLED CHEESE FOOD TRUCK... 

Matt waited in line for about 45 minutes to order his two sandwhiches (honey, pear & brie and gueyre on french) with tots... it was a little breezy in the shade, so I went exploring to find my favorite meal... a gormet salad. 

Once we picked up or dreamy lunch, we walked back to our hotel past the movie trailers out front to sit on the balcony over looking the studio and enjoyed a delightful meal in the sun. 

Matt's art

Sunny California

As we headed out we asked the valet driver why there were all of the movie trailers in front of the hotel and found out that Season 4 of Castle was being filmed in the hotel. We are now determined to figure out which episode we were close enough to touch. Unfortunately, we didn't meet or see and famous people, but we did see some folks walking out of the elevator carrying a suspicious piece of artwork... we think it might be a clue! 

Enough of dreaming that we were celebrities... onto Venice Beach

First Evening in California

After loading up the Jetta, we trusted Matt's iPhone to take us to Dona Rosa's in Pasadena to meet up with the Myers. It wasn't too far from the airport, but we had to merge on what seemed to me (as the navigator) like a zillion highways, so after a few detours and recalculations later we made it to Dona Rosa and were greeted by a sweet Mariachi band!

Negro Modelo-- yes please!! Good food and great conversation. We got to meet the little Myer and catch up with Shannon and Dave. I love that we were able to connect on substantial topics and share real life even when not seeing our friends over long stretches of time.

Then onto the Hotel (we were ready for sleep!) This time we were able to score an amazing deal on priceline... Century City Intercontinental Hotel about a mile from Rodeo drive and in the middle of production studios.

Opening the door to our room was like walking into a litle slice of paradise. I don't even know what the thread counts on the sheets were and I'm pretty sure that both Matt and I were able to go completely spread eagle on the gynormous bed without touching each other.

Glorious Sleep!

The first snafoo

We learned a few lessons about planning trips last minute. Lesson 1: Its tons of fun and totally worth it!

Lesson 2: When booking multiple things in a rushed fashion online while trying to get the best deals possible, some details are hard to catch.

The rental car... We were surprised that we could book a rental car so cheaply from Long Beach and drop it off in Denver. This was actually one of the main reasons that we decided to abandon our Craigslist search. We thought that Alamo & Priceline worked together to offer us an affordable driving adventure... well, not so much!

Apparently, when we booked the car we failed to double check that the drop off destination was Denver... oops! So, when we went to pick up our cute back Jetta and said "Denver on Saturday, right?"... the nice man behind the counter said, "Um, what? No, you are returning the car here..."

The email verification did not include drop off cities, but now we already had a flight out of Denver on Sunday... options... pay double the price? others?? we couldn't really come up with any other options at that point and Alamo worked with us quite a bit to get the price down as much as possible. What can you expect... picking up a car in Long Beach and Returning it Denver 5 days later and only expecting to pay $50 a day for unlimited miles?? That was reach, we know... but we thought we could have done it.

So, we sucked it up and reminded ourselves that this is vacation and we could afford it, just didn't want to. Jumped in the Jetta and headed up to Pasadena to see our friends Shannon & Dave Myer.

I should add that one of the reasons why I love my husband so much is that he remained calm during all of the negotiations and did not let this change of pace interrupt his Spirit. I'm thankful for his calm and cool demeanor and his ability to negotiate in seemingly stressful situations.

Day 3: Off to the West Coast

Backpack full and ready to move on to the next city. 

Beautiful views from the river walk. We had to take in the last bits of scenery before riding the L to O'Hare.

We woke up Tuesday morning and got ready to say Goodbye to Chicago. Our hotel offered free breakfast and then we took one last walk down the river to see the sights during day light, then onto the L and out to the air port where we hopped on our plane to Long Beach California.