California on a Whim

"This opportunity is like a unicorn...and we are going to ride it all the way to California."  That is what my husband told me after his Dad offered to take all of our children to Idaho with him. We were planning on heading to Idaho for Thanksgiving...and since his Dad was here on business and heading back to Idaho, he took the girls a few days before us. That same day Jon had a flight out of town scheduled at 7 and a hotel booked in Long Beach. We didn't get to sit together on the plane. I sat in front of a college girl who had an affinity for the phrase " Oh my gosh I'm gonna cry!" I was worried that my brain had absorbed the phrase and would use it against my will, but my brain did not betray me. I saw a lot of amazing things on this impromptu California getaway, but no pre-announced tears were shed.

We woke up on a sunny Saturday morning in our quiet hotel room, just the two of us. I looked out of our window to see sailboats, a light house and a glistening ocean. We grabbed a complimentary breakfast that I hardly touched and headed out to explore.

Jon found a insanely good deal on a BMW convertible to rent. This made him happy in ways that I can't completely relate to. The good deal...relatable...the BMW...not really. But I was happy for him, I could see that he was loving it. I did enjoy driving on the coast with the top down when it wasn't cold. But dang it I was cold a lot in California!

The first thing we did was walk around some old docks and check out the light house. We were amazed to find easy parking and that there were hardly any people around.

It was leisurely and relaxing. We held hands and let the moment be what it was and soak it in. After our stroll we had some lunch before we headed out on a whale watching adventure. Just the week before we had been watching a documentary about blue whale migration in California. And now we were on a dock with boats heading out to hopefully catch sight of a whale or dolphin. I tried not to get my hopes up, even just a boat ride out on the open ocean would be fun, but I really hoped I'd get to see some kind of ocean mammal.

I prepared by taking a non drowsy Dramamine and bringing my coat. I was so glad to have my coat! Even though it was a sunny 70 degrees, once the boat was moving along,the wind off the water was icy. Just a few minutes after heading out I spotted two bottle nosed dolphins. I loved them. I loved the boat cruising atop the water and the fresh ocean air. Not long after heading out in to deeper water we saw more and more dolphins, a huge pod came to play all around the boat. Jon and I looked over the rails to see them jumping full bodied out of the water, twisting and landing on their sides, we could hear them echo-locating. Dolphins love being dolphins, and watching their perfectly aerodynamic bodies maneuver  through the ocean was so much fun.

 In the distance a ways, whale spray was spotted and the boat headed over to get a closer look. Jon was so good to take lots of picture and video, I was just too caught up in the moment.We ended up seeing hundreds of dolphins and four humpback whales. So close that I actually had whale spray blow on to my face. I think I need to do this every year for the rest of my life. It was exhilarating.

After our exciting ocean excursion, we toured the Queen Mary. It was built after the titanic but was in a lot of ways similar. I could hardly keep my eyes open...that dang non drowsy Dramamine was willing me to fall asleep while I tried to listen to the tour guide. We ended up leaving the tour early and heading to our hotel. We had the most delicious room service and went to be around 9. I loved that day. 

The next day we headed down the coast to a little town called Imperial Beach. When we got to the hotel Jon kindly asked if they could upgrade us to a suite with a view for no extra charge...and they said yes. Because Jon is magic. It was amazing! We went for a walk down the beach, I saw my very first real sea horse...being eaten a live by a seagull. We walked down the longest dock I've even been on and then went back because I was freezing. We headed down to the restaurant for a romantic dinner on the patio, under a heater. 

 As we headed back up the coast on our last day, we would see something interesting and pull over to explore. No plan, just going where ever our hearts desired. It was so low stress, we were free spirits having fun living life at our own pace. 

Hey, no kids! Lets go play on sea side cliffs.

No one around...how is that possible? I loved fining places to explore with just the two of us.

A prickly pear from a cactus...we saved it for a snack, but never ate it. I regret that.

Seriously...this is California...where is everybody? Not complaining. 

Our last sunset. 

I feel like I got a second honeymoon. I'm so grateful to my in-laws for taking such great care of my girls so that we could have this adventure together. I loved having Jon all to myself for a few days. I will be sure to do this for my kids should they marry and have kids some day. It's just such a good thing to be just the two of you every once in a while.