SoCal Getaway

It had been a while since Nate and I had been on a trip just the two of us so it was really nice to getaway over Martin Luther King weekend.  My parents were kind enough to watch the kids and we didn't worry about them one bit because we knew they were in such good hands! We woke up early on Friday for an 8am flight but sadly once we boarded the plane to take off, they had us get off because of a mechanical issue so we ended up having to wait at the airport for five hours.  So that was really frustrating missing a big portion of our first day there but we finally got into LA in the afternoon and had time to eat at the best Mexican spot (El Amigo) and check out Redondo Beach.

 We loved exploring Redondo beach and the areas all around it because we had never been to that part of LA. We came across the most beautiful views on our trip!  The little town of Malaga Cove (right next to Redondo beach) was gorgeous and our favorite little spot. If we had millions to spend on a home I'd wanna be right there :) We caught the prettiest sunset and it was especially refreshing to see because we've been cooped up all winter with snow and cold and little sun.

We stayed at a Marriott in Torrence right next to lots of restaurants and a huge fancy shopping mall called Del Amo.  That was a big selling point for me in picking which hotel to stay at :)  We did a little shopping at a few stores and ate at some restaurants around the mall a few nights while were there.

 The next day we spent the whole day at Universal.  Nate and I both hadn't been to Universal in years and never together so we had so much fun together.  And theme parks without kids are awesome!  We were lucky and it wasn't that busy in the morning so we didn't have to wait long for the rides. A big plus for both of us.

 Hogsmeade and all the Harry Potter stuff was awesome!  You don't have to be a huge Harry Potter fan to appreciate what an amazing job they did recreating Harry Potter's world. Aiden would have been in heaven!

Look at those perfect blue skies!  Loved getting some sunshine!

The studio tour was interesting too.  It's pretty fascinating to see all that goes into making a movie. We've been watching the Grinch on repeat at our house (Graham loves it) so it was cool to see some of the set.

 Walking through the park we saw lots of the kids favorite characters and realized how much they would have loved to go too.  We'll have to go back with all six of us in a few years.

 When we were standing in line for the Special Effects show, we were pulled to the side and asked to help out on the show.  We didn't know what we said yes too but we went with it anyway :) Nate got to wear an astronaut suit and they told me I'd help with "something" on stage too. Nate was a little nervous what this "special effect" might be.

 Well, they ended up having us up on the stage for the finale of the show. They explained that I would use an iPad to control Nate's movements and then they hooked Nate up to some wires and told me to start pressing buttons!  So I was hesitantly pushing buttons on the iPad and Nate lifted off the ground and started flying all over the place out of control!  I was laughing so hard but also a little nervous he would get hurt cause I didn't know what I was doing!  Well at the end of the show he came down and took off his helmet and it wasn't Nate! Without me (or the audience) knowing, they switched Nate out with a stunt double and Nate just watched the whole thing on the tv behind the stage sitting on a couch.  It was so funny and sure made our Universal experience memorable!

 Happy he survived! :)

 The next day we went to church in Torrance and then headed to the beach.  We rented a tandem bike and rode for a ways on the Stand bike path along the LA beaches.  We went past Redondo beach, Hermosa beach, Manhattan beach, and loved exploring miles of the coastline. It was our first time on a tandem bike and I loved it because I didn't have to pay attention to steering...I just had to pedal. Nate had to do most of the work! And I got to chat his ear off the whole time. :)

 After bike riding we had fun exploring Redondo beach pier.  We ate at the yummiest ma and pop place called Polly's on the Pier and loved hanging out in the beautiful outdoors.  We rented a movie in our room that night called Instant Family and it was hilarious!  It is definitely a new favorite movie of ours!

On Monday, we packed up and headed to a popular little donut shop called Sidecar Donuts and then we checked out the Santa Monica pier.  Neither of us had ever been there so it was fun to see the iconic spot.  The amusement park seemed like a fun spot and we want to bring our kids back someday.  We hung out in Santa Monica for a bit and then had some time before our flight took off so we drove through Beverly Hills and explored around LA a bit more. It's amazing to see some of the mansions around Beverly Hills and to see lots of fancy cars dotting the streets.  Our little rental car (a little Corolla) didn't quite fit in Beverly Hills!

 The random girl taking our picture made me take off my hat for a better shot :) so here are a few more:

 It was the perfect little escape from real life.  As the song says, I'm lucky to be in love with my best friend!  I'm already ready to plan another trip with just the two of us :)