LA and Mission Viejo

This part of the trip was by far my favorite. When Rob and I left San Diego we headed to Mission Viejo to Meet up with Robs
Brother and His wife Katy, they recently moved from Utah and I was excited to see them again. When we got to Mission Viejo,
Brent and Katy were not home yet, so Rob and I decided to go to a few malls and see what kind of fun Dodger stuff we could
get, and then we went and saw x-men, First Class. (which I really liked) by the time the movie ended we went to Brent and
Katys place, unloaded the car, and let the visiting begin. The next morning, we left early to go to the Angels game. The
angles played Kansas City Royals. We got there about 30 minutes before the parking lot even opened, and then we had about 2
hours before we were allowed in the stadium, and then another 1-2 hours before the game actually started. By the time we
got to our seats and ate, we were so tired, and it was so hot, that it made the game TERRIBLE! It was the worst game
that we had been to, and we all agree. The only good thing about this game, was we were able to pick out the cutest
little boy who was about 3-5 years old, and dressed completley in Angels Garb. We gave him a ball. We actually didnt
get a ball from batting practice this game (it was the first game we had been to where we didnt get one-but we got 4 from
the Padres game, so we brought one with us just in case) This little boy was so excited, we told him it was from the Angels
and he never let go of the ball, and always had a huge smile on his face because of it. It really is my favorite thing
about the games now. when the game was over, we ran to the store, got some food, then went back to the house, and made
dinner, and brownies. The next morning, Rob and I just hung out at the house, while Brent worked half a day and Katie
errands. That afternoon, We all headed to Beautiful Dodger Stadium, we made a stop at a hat store, then onto the stadium.
This game was a lot of fun, especially really being able to root for the hometeam. The dodgers played the Reds. They lost,
but it was still a really fun game none the less. The next day, Rob and I went to downtown Disney and walked around and
then we went to a few other stores and walked around. That night when Brent got home from work, we all headed to dinner at
Rubys, and then onto the beach. This was one of the highlights of the trip. It was one of the first times I had actually
Played in the ocean. we didnt really mean to get wet, but all of our pants were soaked, as well as pretty much all of Brent
from falling into a wave. the next day, we packed up the car, met Brent and Katy for lunch before we left. Brent and Katy
gave me a babycake maker (it is a really cool mini cupcake maker that I love!) after lunch, Rob and I hit the Road and headed
to Las Vegas. When we got there, we checked into our hotel. We stayed in the Venetian. It was such a pretty hotel, although
a little confusing to get to our hotel room. The Room was beautiful, and I loved the hugh bathroom and the Bathtub. when we
were all settled in, Rob and I went out to see Vegas. We went to cheesecake factory for dinner (yes, I know, this is something
that we have had in Utah and It wasnt a new food place for us, but it was my birthday, and I wanted a nicer place for dinner,
and all the new places would have cost us an arm and a leg.) after dinner, we walked around some more, found a really funny
dueling piano bar in one of the hotels, and watched from the door way. after that, we went back to our hotel, and went to bed.
the next morning, after a wonderful breakfast of cheesecake, we went out exploring some more, we went to Palace station and
played some Bingo, then went to get Sushi for lunch (one of Robs favorites, not so much mine-but Rob liked it) after that,
we went to the outlets, and played some more Bingo, then went back to our room and watched True Grit (Rob liked it, I fell
asleep) the next morning we went and played a little more bingo, which Rob won $250 in, and then we headed back home to Utah.
It was a long drive back, but we made it all in one piece, and in good time. Here are the last few pictures.

San Diego and Surrounding Cities

On Day 5 of the trip, we left Ventura County and headed to San Diego. When We got there, we checked into our awesome hotel, the hotel Indego. Rob and I both LOVED San Diego! Everywhere we wanted to go (for the most part) we could just walk to. Our room on the 2nd floor was high enough to see right into PETCO park. One of the odd/cool/funny thing about our hotel, was that there was a doggy bar on the 9th floor. People brought up their dogs, and both owner and pet could have a specialty drink on the patio. There was a grassy area, and a little doggy cat walk. It was pretty funny. After we got situated in our hotel room, we headed out to Horton Plaza, which is an out door mall type thing. We just walked around there a little bit, then we headed back to our hotel area (which I later found out was the gaslight district) We were Hungry, and I was thinking I wanted to have pizza. We walked into a pizza place, and they just had pizza sitting under a lamp, and nowhere to sit and eat, I quickly decided I didnt want pizza anymore. We kept walking, and stopped outside of a place called Sloppy Joeys. It was Italian food, and they had pizza, so we decided to stay. One of the cool things about San Diego is all the outdoor seating, which is great from People watchers, like Rob and I. When we sat down, we found out that the place next to us, a place called Nickey Rottens was also ownded by the same person, so we could order off either menu. Nickey Rottens was featured on MSN or Food Networks top 10 Hamburgers in the Nation. Rob got a burger (and It was amazing!) and I had chicken Parmesean (nope, not pizza ha ha) both were so good! While I was eating, I happened to be looking right at the Garadelli Chocolate store. After we ate, we went to the store, I didnt think I would get anything, because I have never been a huge fan of Garahdelli Chocolate, but I was wrong, they gave us a sample when we walked in, and I was hooked! After that we just walked around and then walked to and around the ball park. After that, we just went back to the hotel and stettled in for the night (Other than a 711 Run, which Im not even going to get into because it still makes me so mad!) The next morning we headed out for an adventure to Mexico. I had never been out of the country, so it was kind of fun. I dont think I would ever want to go back to that certain area but It was fun, and now I have been out of the country. We just walked the streets, and had lunch (which was surprisingly good) and we got 2 things, Rob got a Dodger Pancho, and I got a shot glass (Rob and I get shot glasses everywhere we go- other then Denver and Dallas- I guess we will just have to go back :-) ) after the game, we went back to the hotel, rested a little, and then Headed into Petco Park. This was the first game we have been to, where the home team did not win. (Nationals won)Rob was able to get 4 balls from Batting Practice though, so that was cool. Rob and I decided at this game, that I would pick a little kid, who was dressed in the hometeam gear, and Rob would go give them a ball. The look on the little kids face is so cute! they get so excited, and its a tradition that I am going to make sure we keep up. After the game, we went to the Gaslight District again, and had dinner at the Marble Room. This place used to be a whore house (for lack of a better name) It was not my favorite, but I was so hungry, that I ate all of my hamburger. The next day, we woke up and went to Coronado Island, and just walked around the hotel Del Coronado. I had been there once before, but Rob had never been. It was kind of boring, but it is a really pretty hotel. I would love to spend a night there. After Coronado, we went to Old Town San diego, where we stopped by the Mormon Batallian Headquarters, then headed down the hill to "Old town Cafe" I loved it! It was so good, and sometimes, I find myself craving it. When we left old town, we headed to Mission Viejo, to visit Brent and Katy, That my friends, is for next time. :-)

Bakersfield and Magic Mountain

I am very sad to say this..... But I didnt really get any pictures of this part of our trip :-( But I have substituted some.

When we left San Fransisco, We headed to bakersfield. On the way there, I fell asleep. It was one of the last times I slept in the car due to this:



Once we got to B-town, we met up with Robs sister Kim, her husband, and there adorable 4 daughters. We Ran to Costco and grabbed lunch, and then we just hung out and had a really good Hamburger from a little place in Bakersfield then we just hung out somre more at the house until Kim and I went to a baby shower for someone in her ward. It was so much fun hanging out with Kim! I wish she lived closer, We hung out for a while at the shower, and then extended our little night out by going to target. ( I had thought I was pregnant, and I figured I should know for sure before we went to Magic Mountain and I went on all the big roller coasters- Im not pregnant FYI- I thought I had a good chance of it, but Kim and I took a test, and it was negative, It was kind of hard to learn, but it is ok. Im so glad Kim made me take the test, and Im so glad she was with me when I found out I wasnt. She and I had a long talk, and Im so glad I have such a wonderful sister!) When we got home, We found Rob and Ryan playing Call of Duty, along with one of Kims daughters, she was so cute, she wanted to play with the boys (I just love those girls!!) We finally went to sleep, and left the next morning for a 2 or so hour drive to Ventura County, where Magic Mountain is.

I was not really looking forward Magic Mountain, in fact, it was the only thing I was dreading. I love Disneyland and their rides, but I had never been on "big Rollercoasters" To make matters worse, I was not feeling all that great to start out with. Rob wanted to take me on the biggest rollercoaster from the get go- luckely, It broke down right before we got on, so we went to another rollar coaster, the screemer-this was the only roller coaster that I thought was gonna make me sick. The biggest and Robs favorite coaster is Golliath. I LOVED IT! I may have blacked out for a moment on the corkscrews, but it was the best! I also really like Deja Vu. I was worried about the Superman ride, because I had never been on a roller coaster that went backwards, and that made me nervous, but It was fun too. All in all, Magic mountain was really fun, and I really surprised myself on how much fun I had. After the park closed, Rob and I were starving (I was afraid to eat anything while still going on rides- I didnt really want to get sick) But the place we had for dinner was really good. I dont remember the name of it, but it was Mexican food (which I grew up not liking, but all the sudden I love it-and we had it several times on this trip)



Superman


Viper


Deja Vu


The View from the drop on Goliath


I survived!

San Fransisco California

SO, I know I have completley neglected my blog for the entire month of June, but in my defense, we were gone for half of it. :-)
So here we go on our trip. I decided the easiest way to do it, will be a blog post for each city. So San Fransisco, Bakersfield and Ventura County, San Diego, LA, and Las Vegas.

So on with the show! Rob and I packed up our car on Satuday, all but the last minute stuff. We woke up at 3:00AM on Sunday, and headed out. We drove almost all of the way to San Fransisco, only stopping for gas. When we got to San Fransisco, we went straight to our hotel (A Holiday Inn Express) After we got situated in our hotel, we headed out to do a "driving tour" of the city. We drove past AT&T park, then up and down the streets in hope of seeing the sights, and finding something Good to eat for dinner. Rob and I had decided that we only wanted to eat food that was distinctly city originals. We found several places we wanted to try, but parking was so crazy! We ended up driving through chinatown, and japantown and just the main streets of Good Old San Fran. We couldnt find a place to park for several restaurants, and we were quickly becoming tired, and on the verge of starvation so we headed back towards our hotel, and found an IHOP. (I know, I know, first place we eat and we break our goal.- but on a Sunday night, after driving in a car all day, we didnt really bother worrying about it.) After we ate, we went back to the hotel, watched some TV, and went to sleep.

The next morning we headed out for our adventures. It was a cold and rainy day. We started out at Fishermans Warf. We walked around the shops, watched the seals at pier 39, ate a super Yummy lunch at Bubba Gumps (A first for both of us) Then we walked around some more. After Fishermans Warf, we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. Rob asked If I wanted to drive on it, but I decided seeing it would be enough. We went to Golden Gate Bridge State Park, took some pictures, and then headed for Lombard street. We drove down Lombard street (for those of you who dont know what Lombard street is, its a VERY curvy residential street.- I hope that helps, because my pictures of it are not that great) after Lombard street we headed to AT&T park. Rob was a little excited to get to the park, and we arrived about 3 hours BEFORE we were even allowed into the park. We walked around the stadium, then just hung out. It was cold and Rainy, and I was hoping that the all day rain would stop in time for the first pitch.

When we were finally in the stadium, we watched batting practice, and Rob was able to catch a ball. The San Fransisco Giants played the Washington Nationals. During batting practice, there was this little boy standing next to me hoping to catch a ball, and I told Rob that if I caught a ball, it would be a toss up between who I gave it to, him, or the little boy to my left. Luckily for Rob, the little boys dad caught one in his hat for him, so Rob got to keep our game ball. This gave us an idea for future games (I will tell you more about it when we get to our next game) When the game started, We were all waiting for Tim Lincecome (AKA the freak) to pitch is 1000 carrier strike out. he did it! it was pretty cool to see a milestone. At one point the Giants were losting, but in the 9th inning, they came back and tied the game, sending us unto extra innings. The game went 13 innings, and almost 4 hours. The game ended after midnight, and I was FROZEN. but it was a lot of fun, and I think it was my favorite ballpark (besides Dodger stadium of course) After the game, we went back to the hotel and went to bed. We were planning on leaving early the next day to drive the 6 hours to Bakersfield to Visit Robs sister Kim and her family. thats all for now, here are some pictures of San Fransisco.

The Bay Bridge


Rob wearing a weird hat in a shop in Fishermans Warf


Alcatraz


Golden Gate Bridge from Fishermans Warf


Cute Playful Seals at Pier 39 at Fishermans Warf




This is as close as I got to a Trolly










Lombard Street






The "Freaks" 1000 Strike out.