Last week we decided to visit our friends TJ and Kat in San Francisco. TJ is doing an internship down there, so we figured it was the perfect time to go! They were nice enough to let us stay at their place for the weekend. We took the BART from the airport and met Kat. We dragged our luggage up a HUGE (I'm not kidding) hill to their apartment. The views were beautiful. We met TJ for lunch at Petite Deli. It was DELICIOUS! This adorable asian lady made our sandwiches. You could tell she made them with love. I got their Turkey Delight and thought it was the best thing ever.
Later that day, we walked around Union Square and went to the Exploratorium. It was so much fun! We ate dinner at King of Thai. We had never eaten Thai food, so it was pretty exciting. We both got the Yellow Curry and really liked it!
Our second day in the city, we all had to work. We took a little break and went to lunch at Golden Boy Pizza. Their pizza was really good! We tried the pepperoni, pesto/vegetarian, and combination. It was delish! We headed back to the apartment and worked for a few more hours and then got ready and went to Coit Tower. There were beautiful views of the city. After Coit tower, we headed to dinner. We ate at Franchino's. This was probably my favorite meal of the trip! We shared the bruschetta, Jordan got the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, and I got the Capellini Mare e Monti with Aurora sauce. SO GOOD! Later, we went to the Giant's game.
Day three was probably my favorite day. We rented bikes and rode them across the bridge to Sausalido. Once we got there, we went to Fred's for brunch. The food was SO good! I'm not sure if it was because we were starving, or it actually was good- probably both! I ordered their Deep Fried French Toast with a side of Millionaire's Bacon (healthy I know) and Jordan ordered their Avocado Omelet. We were in heaven! After eating brunch, we headed to Muir Woods. That place was magical! Seriously! So beautiful and so relaxing. I wish the pictures did it justice. We walked around the woods for awhile and took the ferry back to the city. Later, we ate dinner at a delicious burger joint called Moe's Grill. Once again, the food was awesome! By the end of the day we were exhausted! The girls went to sleep while the boys stayed up making this super cool video of our day (see below).
Our last day started out a little....weird! Kat & TJ were at church and we were packing up when the fire alarm went off. It wasn't very loud, so I ignored it for awhile. Finally Jordan told me we should probably go outside. I grabbed my purse and he grabbed our iPad's (duh) and we ran out the door. The whole apartment complex was out there waiting for the firemen to arrive. They went inside and after about 15 minutes they didn't find any sign of the fire. They thought someone had pulled the alarm as a joke and told us we were good to go back inside.
After the fire fiasco, we all went to Pier 39. We watched the Sea Lions for probably a good half hour. (We get really entertained watching animals) We walked around the Pier and Fisherman's Warf. We decided it would be good to grab an early dinner before our flight. We ate at (another) italian restaurant called Calzone's Pizza Cucina. We shared a Lasagna-style Calzone and the Sausage Trio Pizza (we loved both). After dinner, it was time to head to the airport.
We were really sad to go home but had an amazing trip! We were so glad we were able to spend it with our friends TJ & Kat!
Growing up, it was a family tradition to go to Newport Beach, CA for our summer vacation. The last summer I spent there was in 2008, just days before my dad passed away. I remember how funny and sweet my dad was that trip. It's a memory I'll cherish forever.
We finally made it back to Newport last month with my family. We stayed at the Newport Coast Marriott Villas and had a blast!
Jordan and I worked the first few days, but we were able to go out with everyone else later in the afternoon.
While we were there we went to Balboa Island. We walked around and looked at all the little shops and stopped to get a frozen banana. (After watching Arrested Development it was a must)
We spent quite a bit of time at either the beach or the pool. The boys had fun boogie boarding, while the girls got their tan on.
One of our favorite days was when we went to Disneyland! It was crowded, but the weather was perfect. We were able to go on all the rides we wanted. Some of my Disneyland favorites: the Diet Coke, Churro's, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Mature, I know!
Another thing we loved was biking along the beach. Jordan and I got a tandem bike and I'll be honest, it scared the crap out of me! Once we got used to it, we had a blast!
The last day we were there, we went to an Angel's game. I don't really pay attention to the game at all, but the hotdogs and kettle corn were delicious! We also got free cowboy hats which we all loved!
We had so much fun with my family! I'm so grateful my mom is brave enough to plan trips to take us on every year!
Last month we went on a cruise in the Western Caribbean with the Tripp's. We left out of Galveston, TX and flew in the night before our cruise left. We went and ate some delicious pizza at a pub and stayed the night at The Treemonton House.
We set sail on Sunday and got back the following Sunday. Our first stop was in Cozumel, Mexico. We got off the boat and found a little guy who said he'd take us to the Club Cozumel Caribe resort for the day. We were surprised by how nice it was. There was beach access, a pool, snorkeling, and a nice restaurant. We stayed there for the whole day and had a blast! Our favorite part was the snorkeling until I saw a barracuda, then it wasn't so fun anymore…We also found a guy who said we could pay $5 to take pictures with his birds. I thought we were getting ripped off, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Our second stop was in Grand Cayman. We had heard that Stingray City was the best thing to do, so we had booked our excursion through Moby Dick Tours a few weeks before we left. It was probably the best decision we made. They were amazing! If you go to Grand Cayaman-they're the people to book through. They first took us snorkeling, then we headed over to Stingray City. I was TERRIFIED and it didn't help that the boys jumped into the water as soon as they could. Megan and I were left in the boat, but we finally got the courage to get in the water. The stingrays were HUGE and they were everywhere! I was afraid I was going to get stung by one (you know…that's how the Crocodile Hunter died) but I quickly learned how friendly these animals are. We got to hold, pet, and kiss them. We were told that by kissing a stingray, you get 7 years of good luck!
Our last stop was Falmouth, Jamaica. We had heard that this place was a little sketchy so we made sure to book our excursion through the cruise ship just to be safe. We went to the Green Grotto Caves and Dunn's River Falls. The caves made me a little claustrophobic, but they were really cool! We got to wear a really attractive hair net and helmets. We looked REAL good! Our favorite part of Jamaica was Dunn's River Falls. It was AMAZING! It's 900 feet of waterfalls that you climb. You start at the bottom by the beach and climb your way to the top. There are natural water slides and little pools to jump into along the way. None of us really thought ahead and brought water-shoes, so we bought some super dorky ones in Mexico. We were glad we did because it was super slippery!
There were a few days when we were at sea, but we stayed entertained. Our ship had basketball courts, volleyball courts, mini golf, a rock climbing wall, and a Flowrider. At night there we tons of fun things to do. Some of our favorites were karaoke and the comedy club. There was never a dull moment. We ate too much, laughed too much, and had too much fun! It was our favorite vacation to date! Thanks Meg + Wes for making this trip the best one ever!
My little sister and mom have always talked about taking a girls trip to New York. I never believed it would really happen, but one day my mom called me up and meant business! A couple days later we had our trip booked! Day 1: Our flight left early Wednesday morning and we got there that evening. Our hotel was in the financial district, so we took a taxi to get there. I'm just going to assume that 95% of the taxi drivers are all the same, so I feel safe to say that they're TERRIBLE! This guy was weaving in and out of traffic like you wouldn't believe. I thought they just drove like that in movies, but boy was I wrong! Needless to say, 10 minutes into the drive I was seconds away from throwing up. I was frantically searching for something I could puke in. After realizing there wasn't anything, I decided to roll down my window and hang my head outside. If worst came to worst, I could always just puke out the window. When we got to the hotel, I was praising the heavens! Me+taxi's=no bueno!
My cute mom felt obligated to try and have a conversation with our driver...it was hilarious
Once we got checked in, we decided to walk around for a bit and grab something to eat. The concierge suggested The Merchant's River House and it did not disappoint. I'm not sure if it was because we were starving or it really was good. Either way, we enjoyed ourselves.
Day 2: The second day we were there, we went to the 911 memorial. It was literately just down the street from our hotel. As soon as you get through the lines you can feel a sort of reverence about the place. You can definitely feel all the sadness and heartbreak that took place that day. The memorial isn't completely finished, but the parts that were finished were amazing.
After, we walked through the Financial District, snapped a quick pic by the bull, and made our way to the Staten Island Ferry. It's free and we were able to see the Statue of Liberty from the boat. It kinda ghetto, but hey, anything to save a buck!
Later that night, we went to Times Square. What a crazy place! There were freaks everywhere (which I expected). I now know why they call NYC the city that never sleeps! After we walked/shopped around Times Square, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to see Wicked. This was by far my favorite part of the trip! I've been listening to the Broadway soundtrack for years and sang some of the songs in choir in high school. Needless to say, I've been obsessed for a good part of my life. It definitely did not disappoint. It was AMAZING!! So good I wanted to cry my eyes out.
Day 3: Our third day in NYC we were all over the place! We started it out by going to the Empire State Building. Luckily, the line wasn't very long so we got up there pretty fast. The views from up there are breathtaking! Afterwards, we met my cousin Ashley for lunch. She lives in Manhattan and was working right down the street from the Empire State Building. It was fun to see her!
We went to Grand Central Station, St. Patrick's Cathedral (which was under construction), Rockefeller Center, and shopped 5th Ave.
For dinner we ate at Serendipity. We ate really early (like when all the old people eat) so we got in really fast. I ordered their meatloaf and it was delicious! And of course we ordered some of their famous frozen hot chocolate.
Day 4: Our last day we were, again, all over the place. We started out shopping in China Town. I wasn't really looking forward to this, but it was really fun! I guess I just enjoy all the knock-off stuff they sell. The Asians were hilarious to say the least! We had a good time!
For lunch we went to Carnegie Deli (apparently it's famous?). It was pretty good. The sandwiches were MONSTER! I have no clue how a normal person can fit it in their mouth, so we split them!
After lunch we headed to Central Park. I'd heard it's fun to bike through the whole thing. We found a (sketchy) guy to rent bikes from. He took my drivers license as collateral, which made me really nervous. Luckily I got it back! I had no idea Central Park was that BIG! I've only really seen it in Elf and episodes of Law and Order SVU, so it was fun to see it in real life. It was so beautiful, especially in the fall!
Our girls trip was a blast! Of course we missed Kate (who's on a mission), but she said she'd rather die than go to New York so I don't think she was too sad about it. I'm lucky to have such great sisters and an amazing mom!
