CA Vacation - Overview

This is an overview of our trip.
For details on each day of our trip, click Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7

Drew and I just got back from our first trip to California!  We spent 10 days on the West Coast and fell in love with the area.  We flew into Los Angeles, rented a car, and drove along Highway 1 to San Francisco.  Then we drove back south to Disneyland.

Since it was a lengthy trip, this first post if just going to be an overview of the things we did.  Then I'll link to other blog posts that go more in depth.

Los Angeles Portion
Saturday, June 28
Flew from Nashville to Los Angeles, arriving around lunch.
Grabbed lunch and headed to La Brea Tar Pits

Drove to Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood sign.

Sunday, June 29
We took a tour of Warner Bros. Studios, where we got to tour Batman and Harry Potter props and see the Friends set!

Stopped by Guitar Center's Rock Walk on Sunset Boulevard

Went back to Hollywood to tour Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Drove by Kat Von D's tattoo shop

And found Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory

Took a drive down Rodeo Drive

Then finished the day at Griffith Observatory, which had amazing views of the City and the Hollywood sign

Monday, June 30
We started our day at the Santa Monica Pier

Then rented bikes and rode down the Venice Beach

We still had some time left, so we drove over to Universal Studios (and got soaked on the Jurassic Park ride)

We ended our day with a drive to Morro Bay to spend the night

Coastal Portion
AKA the most beautiful place ever!

Tuesday, July 1
Grabbed breakfast at a local place overlooking Morro Rock.  Afterwards, we drove over to get a better look.

Then began our drive up Highway 1

Stopped at Moonstone Beach

Took a tour of Hearst Castle

Along the way we saw elephant seals

McWay Falls

Pfeiffer Beach

Bixby Bridge

This is probably my favorite picture of us from the trip!

Finishing our night by arriving in San Francisco

San Francisco Portion
Wednesday, July 2
Making a check on Drew's bucket list, we visited Alcatraz Island

Then Pier 39

Lombard Street

Rode the famous cable cars

And grabbed a snack at Ghirardelli Square

Thursday, July 3
We got up early to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge

To Muir Woods to see some Redwoods

We tried to catch a glimpse of the Painted Ladies, but failed since they were covered in scaffolding :(

Headed back to Pier 39 for some shopping

Ended the night at the Exploratorium (where we saw this awesome structure made out of toothpicks!!)

Friday, July 4
For this to be such a momentous holiday, our day wasn't that exciting.  We mostly spent the day driving back down to Disneyland

We stopped by the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Can you see the fish in this photo?

 

Grabbed In-n-Out Burger



It's true.  They really are the best fast food hamburgers ever!  (Even though Drew hated his.  Poor guy.)

And watched fireworks from our car as we pulled into Anaheim

Disneyland

Saturday, July 5 & Sunday, July 6

Both days were spent at Disneyland.  I was so tired of lugging my camera around, that we didn't get many pictures.  And while this was a first trip to Disneyland for both of us, we've done "Disney" before.  We also realized we've unknowingly developed a tradition of visiting a Disney park every year since we've been married.

My iPhone just doesn't seem to have the same quality as my camera.  ha!

Let's Go Home
Monday, July 7
Since Friday was a holiday, we could both take an extra day of vacation.  We flew back to Nashville Monday morning, with a very short layover in San Antonio.  We met Mom and Dad in Corinth on the drive to Tupelo to get the pups.  Dexter fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.  (He's too busy playing to sleep when he's with my parents.)  Daphne has finally stopped freaking out every time one of us leaves the room.  This was her first time away from home, and I think she thought we abandoned her.  Bless her heart.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

So while I do love The Sound of Music, this post isn't exactly about that.  I just wanted to take a few words to tell you what I'm loving most right now.

theSkimm

From theskimm.com, "theSkimm is the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you - across subject lines and party lines - and break it down with fresh editorial content."

I'm 23, a college graduate, married, with a full-time job.  I feel like I should know what's going on in the world.  But you know what?  Reading the news sucks.  Watching the news sucks.  I find it boring, confusing, and littered with opinions.  I just want to know the basics.  theSkimm gives me that.

Every morning Monday - Friday, I get an email with all the headlines in plain, sometimes humorous, English.  I've been receiving the newsletter for just over a week, and I love it!  I even can tell you what's happening in the Iraq right now.  Oh, did I mention it's free?

Hooked yet?  It's super easy to sign-up.  All you do is enter your email address.  theSkimm sent me a special link to have friends sign up!  http://www.theskimm.com/?r=3BTG5  Still not convinced?  You can access samples from the link too.  :)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Google Maps Engine

As many of you know, Drew and I are planning a trip to California this summer.  We're flying into Los Angeles, driving up the coast to San Francisco, and then back down to Disneyland.  As you can imagine, planning has been both exciting and a headache.  Using Google Maps Engine has been fantastic!

This site allows you to create custom maps, break up the points into sections, and share with other gmail accounts.  Below is a sample of the one I made.

I've separated our trip into three sections: SF, Coast, and LA.  I searched for specific things we wanted to see, like McWay Falls, searched for it, and added it to the map.  I can see all three sections or one section at a time.  It's been a great tool to organize our itinerary. 

Create your own map here:  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/

Doctor Who:  11 Doctors, 11 Stories

Last year was the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.  As part of the celebration, BCC commissioned 11 authors to write short stories about each of the 11 incarnations of the Doctor.  These stories were released as ebooks once a month  leading up to the anniversary episode.  This year they released all the stories in one printed volume.  I picked it up a few weeks ago and have been working my way through each story.  I'm much more familiar with the newer doctors, so I really enjoy exploring the personalities of the "classics."  Maybe this will make me finally take the plunge and watch all the original episodes.

Pick up your own copy from Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Doctors-Anniversary-Collection/dp/0141348941

I hope you enjoyed this post!  Let me know if you'd like to see more like this.  I could maybe do themed favorites too.  I'd love to know if you try out any of the things mentioned.