San Diego Trip 2016

This past week I took Fri-yay! off work and hopped on a plane to San Diego for the weekend. I've been desperately needing some sunshine and Gaby was down there for a work conference and wanted to stay a few extra days, so win-win! I was even able to get on an earlier flight (thanks Alaska! and was able to enjoy 5 extra hours of sunshine on Friday!). Upon arriving I dropped my bags in our room and then headed straight down to the pool to drink a margarita in a lounge chair (while waiting for Gaby to be done with work). It was the most magical.

^^Just off the plane, SO EXCITED IT'S SUNNY OUT (and borderline too warm for the flannel I'm sporting)!^^

^^First stop: margarita by the pool (still in flannel, no time to change, must get into sunshine)^^

^^Drink with Gaby before dinner^^

When Gaby was done with the trade show we headed out for a drink with a few of her coworkers, and then followed that up with some Mexican food at Don Chido (at my insistence -- you can't go to Southern California and not eat Mexican food, am I right?). We ended dinner with a round of Patron shots (you're welcome 50something year old male coworkers!) and then most of her coworkers headed to the airport. Three of us who were left met another coworker at Bang Bang for a bowl of alcohol and two trips to the Ryan Gosling themed bathroom for Gaby and I (which was very silly and ridiculous but also maybe one of my favorite parts of the trip)!!!

^^THE bathroom, in all of its glory^^

^^We took ALL the pictures^^

 

^^No shame^^ 

^^IDK why my face is so serious, but this made me LOL^^

After Bang Bang we bar hopped around the Gaslamp Quarter. We went to the Altitude Bar (on a misunderstood tip from a friend, but the view was awesome anyway) and at one point asked an Uber Driver to take us to his favorite bar in the area. We slept until like 10:30am the next day. Killing it.

Saturday, after transferring hotels and grabbing some iced coffee, we headed to the beach! It was so warm and sunny and generally magical outside. We grabbed a beer (for me) and a Bloody Mary (for Gaby) and shared some nachos for lunch. We purchased ridiculous Spring Break tank tops which were on sale, Gaby stepped on and got stung by a bee on the beach, and we found her some new flip flops since hers were killing her (not a good day for her feet, but a good day overall because it was SO NICE OUT, IN FEBRUARY!). We walked along the boardwalk for a long time and ultimately grabbed one more beer at a beachfront bar before heading back to the hotel to switch to a clean room (switch = get upgraded to a suite complete with a complementary bottle of delicious wine b/c of some pube looking hairs and general dirt (ew), score! Seriously though, the service at and the location of the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Hotel was amazing, we would totally stay there again.

^^Mission Beach boardwalk area^^

 ^^The beach, SO GOOD^^

^^Gaby on the beach, pre bee sting^^

^^Beach bar beer. When in Rome!^^

After relaxing in our room for a few minutes and discovering there was no hot tub at our hotel (only a pool) we started to get hungry and so we ventured across the street to Fleming's for some Sweet Chili Calamari, which as Gaby explained beforehand, was amazing. We then made our way to a nearby Sushi place for a light dinner. Later that night we went to the Whiskey House and then got some hummus at a Greek place, then we somehow were persuaded via text message to go to this V TERRIBLE club by Gaby's coworker. Guys, it was the worst. We walk up and there is this crazy long line, we go to the VIP guy and tell him our friend has a table and he's like I can't find his name, who is he with? And we're like, we don't know. He lives here, we don't, also it's really NBD b/c this place sounds REALLY loud and terrible and we're wearing jeans and flip flops so like, we'll definitely go elsewhere b/c not our scene and we don't want to try and persuade you to let us in, like, at all. And the bouncer was like, ummm well you can just go in through this VIP door, it's whatever. So we walk into this packed, terrible, dark, crowded night club playing house music and the DJ kept shouting "I'M A GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST" #no. We found Gaby's coworker, had part of one drink, and got the fuck out of that disaster in favor of bed.

^^Gaby blissing out in our suite's bedroom^^

^^READY TO GOOOOO^^

Sunday we rented a car and drove to LA to eat Thai Food at Gaby's most favorite Thai place in Hollywood and fly out of LAX. First though, we ate In-N-Out Burger for late breakfast in San Diego (Cheeseburger, Animal Fries & Iced Tea for me!) and we got Coffee Bean (I loveeee Coffee Beannnnn) along the way. We also listened to a lot of Tove Lo on our very sunny drive, so I was pretty content, albeit tired on Sunday. We also stopped by The Grove after Thai Food, which was so fancy, before returning our rental car and barely making it out of town that evening.

 ^^The only burger I'll eat. Period. It was OMGSOGOODICANTEVEN^^

^^Thai Food FTW^^

^^All up in LA^^

I'm convinced after Disneyland last February and San Diego this February, I need to go to SoCal every February in order to survive rainy Seattle winters. I'm already plotting my trip back to San Diego next year! I feel like I have so much left to explore still!

Alsooooooo here are some things about San Diego I did/liked/still want to do/want to tell you about/whatever: (1) all the people there are SO beautiful; (2) they're also all the nicest ever (what do you have to be mad about when it's sunny and beautiful all the time, right? Right. They get it.); (3) I still need to eat Carne Asada Fries(!!); (4) the manager of the Hilton gave us his card and told us if we ever want to come back he'll hook it up; (5) Ryan Gosling Bathroom!!!; (6) palm trees; (7) WARM SUNSHINE IN FEBRUARY?!?! You guys, c'mon. The best!; (8) if you have nasty back hair take care of it or you'll never have a shot w/ Gaby and we'll definitely make fun of you ALL WEEKEND AND FOREVER; and (9) I loveeeee Girls' Trips with Gaby so much. #takemeback

Valentine’s day weekend 2015 at Disneyland

A while back my friend Katie and her husband Josh had some airline miles to use before they expired. They decided to book a flight to LAX over President’s day weekend and figured that they would decide on details later. They ultimately decided to go to Disneyland and invited Dustin and I, as well as our friends Art and Amy to join them. I’d never been to Disneyland (I know, right?), Dustin had (and loved it) so we were in.

Dustin and I took the Friday the 13th off of work and flew down to California midday – after I had some day-off-work-drama trying to get this multi-million-dollar-deal closed that I had been working on for months. I got it figured out, ultimately on my phone, from the airport, then we were off #STRESS.

Dustin upgraded us to first class for our flight, another first for me. First class is the most magical thing. How come I hadn’t been flying this way all the time? (I know why, don’t answer that). I sipped dranks and chatted with Dustin and looked out the window because it was so sunny and clear and ate a yummy thai wrap and listened to a lot of Beyonce. It was my favorite flight.

^^First Class^^

^^Flying over Mount St. Helens^^

^^Flying over Mt. Hood and the Homeland^^

We booked a shuttle to take us from LAX to the Disneyland Hotel where we were staying. We probably should have given our flight times, etc. a little more thought, because we got stuck in really terrible LA traffic heading to our hotel. I did snap a lot of really excellent SnapChatting while sitting on that shuttle, though:

^^Snap game so on point/little child photo bombing so hard^^

When we finally arrived at the hotel it was getting dark so there wasn’t much time to get in the pool like we’d originally hoped. Instead we went to our room and got ready for dinner with Goofy at Goofy’s Kitchen!

I’m pretty sure Goofy’s Kitchen is for children, as evidenced by the food at the buffet (and I guess the fact that it’s at Disneyland, haha), but I gave zero fucks because that food was GOOD. Mac and Cheese pizza, you guys! Holy yum. Also, dirt cups for dessert. Plus Goofy and his “friends” danced around the restaurant and we took pics with them, including a selfie with Minnie Mouse.

^^Dustin, Goofy and myself at the beginning of our Dinner with Goofy^^
  ^^Selfie with Minnie^^

^^Dustin and Minnie Mouse would probs make a really cute couple, you know, if you’re into that^^

After dinner Dustin and I walked around the hotel property for a bit before finding the most awesome Tiki Bar ever. There were flaming drinks and it “rained” inside and they would ring a bell that made the lights flicker and the pictures of volcanoes on the wall erupt and it was so, so cool. When Katie and Josh landed we forced them to come join us for a drink.

^^Katie, me, Dustin and Josh with Disneyland’s version of a Scorpion Bowl :) ^^

At the end of the night Dustin and I walked Josh and Katie out to the front of the hotel to catch their Uber then we stopped to look at the light-up-map-thing at the front of our hotel. While we were standing there, a security guard named Rob came up to us and starting chatting with us and telling us tips and tricks for navigating the park, etc. I mentioned it was my first time there and Rob took us up into some super secret, fancy-as-fuck suites in the hotel and showed us around. It was sooo cool. One of the suites had an open air living room and I wish Rob had the power to upgrade us, sadly we had to go back to our (already upgraded, already super nice) room and go to bed, as it was like 1am at this point.

Dustin and I woke up bright and early the next morning. Apparently staying at the Disneyland Hotel entitled us to an extra “Magic Hour” in the park before everyone else was allowed to go in. We entered the park at 7am and immediately went to get in line for Space Mountain. I was mildly hungover and super tired at this point and hated Space Mountain with a firey passion – it was terrifying and dark and the only redeeming part about it was the cold air it blew in my face the whole time. (side note: I think I wouldn’t have hated it but for the circumstances surrounding when I rode it) Also I felt dizzy when I got off. Fuck you, Space Mountain. This picture says it all (OMFG, so bad):

^^it looks like I was crying, I think I was a little bit^^

After Space Mountain we went on Star Tours which was fun. We then went to Indiana Jones to get a Fast Pass because the park was opening. Art and Amy got there around 8 while we were on some jungle cruise right next to Indiana Jones, they got fast passes and we walked over to our breakfast reservation on Main Street. Breakfast was good but even with a reservation we had to wait about 20 minutes. So we took some pictures outside in the sunshine.

^^Art, Amy, Dustin (I think Art and Dustin were jokingly fighting over Amy here)^^

^^Dustin and I waiting for breakfast^^

After breakfast we went on a few rides (Indiana Jones, Pirates, Dumbo) before meeting up with Josh and Katie around noon.

^^Amy and I on Dumbo. Photo courtesy of the boys who didn’t want to ride Dumbo (whatever)^^

^^Art, Amy, me and Dustin before lunch^^

At this point is was getting so, soooo hot in the park (like 90 degrees, in February! It was amazing but also exhausting). Also, there were SO MANY PEOPLE there. Like way more people than I expected. It was CRAZY busy. We eventually stopped for a hand-dipped corn dog and some bottled water. After lunch we went on the Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster which was my favorite ride of the day. Amy and I also purchased Mickey ears which we got embroidered with our names and were s’cute.

^^Amy and I with Mickey Ears^^

We went on some other rides too then took a time-out with Art and Amy to head to our hotel pool for a bit. We all had a drink and some fries by the pool and Art, Amy and I got into the water for a bit before heading back to our room to get ready for dinner.

We had a triple-date Valentine’s dinner at some Creole restaurant. 3 of us got the Monte Cristo sandwich, which was so, sooo good at the time but now I never want to think of it again. It was deep fried and fatty and the thought of it makes me want to vomit for some reason. But really, it was amazing, and if you’re ever there you should definitely eat it. 

After dinner all 6 of us stood in line for the Haunted Mansion. We finally got inside the ride, were ready to go and it never started. Apparently the ride was broke down. Huge bummer as it was the longest line we waited in all day. After that Katie and Josh went to ride a fast pass ride and Dustin and I went with Art and Amy to do the Star Tours ride again.

Eventually Art and Amy walked over to California Adventure and when Dustin and I were heading back to the main part of the park after that we spotted Mickey Mouse! I was so excited as I heard that he rarely makes appearances. Obvi we stood in a line that was short at that point but grew rapidly, for a picture.

After Mickey we stopped to watch the fireworks at Cinderella’s castle, which was covered by a tarp because they were doing repairs for the 40th Anniversary celebration. Actually, a number of the big rides were closed for 40th Anniversary updates/repairs (Splash Mtn, Matterhorn, etc.). Despite that, though, the fireworks were awesome. I love fireworks and I was so excited to see some in February!

Dustin and I stopped and got a picture with Tinker Bell around this time too.

^^Valentine’s day smooches with Tinker Bell^^

After the fireworks Dustin and I met up with Josh and Katie to ride It’s a Small World before heading over to grab a seat for the 10:something PM Fantasmic showing. At this point I was f-ing exhausted. We sat and watched the Fanstamic show which was really cool and included fire and Mickey and dragons and water and dancing neon monkeys on a boat. I loved it. After the show was over Dustin, Art, Amy and myself went on Haunted Mansion which was finally up and running again. It was like 11:30pm when we got out of the ride and I was sooo dunzo. Dustin wanted to grab a beer Downtown Disney and I just could not. We went back to the room, I looked at my Microsoft Band and saw that I had walked like 27,000 steps that day. My legs were a very painful jelly. We immediately fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up before Dustin and almost fell trying to get out of bed, my legs were so sore and stiff. I decided to walk down to Starbucks and get us some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. It was sooo gorgeous outside that morning. I wanted to stay in SoCal forever. 80 something degree weather in February? I mean…

^^Palm Trees are the best trees, outside of our hotel^^

We hit the gift shop before meeting Art and Amy by our pool for a bit before heading back to the airport around 11am. We left Art and Amy our room key so that they could enjoy the pool for the day before they left on a way later flight (they stayed at a different hotel than Dustin and I). We flew first class back as well, and skipping the security line was my favorite. So was watching St. Vincent on the flight and drinking all the Blue Moon and seeing Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams, the homeland, AND Mt. Rainier out the window all at once. It was so cool, I was nerding out hard.

We got back to Seattle at a decent time and peeked in the window of a house that is currently for sale, stopped by the grocery store and watched SNL’s 40th Anniversary show before calling it a night/day/weekend. I had a great first visit to Disneyland (minus the crazy crowds). I mostly really, really loved the sunshine and warmth. I loved collecting Disney pins for my lanyard that held my room key and park pass; it’s now hanging in my office. And I was a little disappointed I didn’t find the plain, crewneck sweatshirt with Mickey on the front of my dreams, but I did come home with a sweet Mickey mug and a magnet and lots of good memories, so at least there’s that. I think we’ll be back in the not too distant future, next time hopefully with Dustin’s nieces.

San Francisco 2013

Last week I celebrated turning 27 by eating nachos after work, going to bed really early, waking up the next day and flying to San Francisco (California is the 14th state I've been to this month, if you're keeping track - that number is bigger than the number of states I'd ever visited before combined).

We discovered on this trip that Brittan and I like to take a very laid back approach to traveling which really stresses Natalie and Danielle out. We may have barely made our flight, but we did make it (during last call). When we got to San Francisco we were starving and after dropping our things at our Air BnB on Nob Hill we walked to Little Italy for a late lunch of pizza, Caesar salad and beer. After lunch we walked to the really curvy part of Lombard St., took pictures, admired the best sunset ever and then walked back to our Air BnB where our hostess's husband was waiting outside for us. His name was Nick. He creeped Brittan and I out a lot and we may have slept with knives beside our round bed out of fear that he was coming for us in the night. But that's another story for another day.

 ^^View from the top of Lombard St.^^

 ^^Me, Danielle, Brittan and Natalie at the bottom of Lombard St, looking the wrong way^^

 

After resting for a bit at our apartment (there are a lot of really steep hills in San Francisco, OMG), and discovering the amazing view from our roof, we walked downtown to Zara and then back to our apartment to call an Uber and head down to the Marina district to grab a  drink at the Tipsy Pig (which was soo cute) before our 10pm dinner reservation - how hip are we, am I right? Ha! For dinner we had margaritas and arguably the best Mexican food of our lives at Mamacia before calling it an early night and making endless hashtag jokes on the ride home.

 ^^discovering the roof top view from our apartment, most amazing thing ever, right?^^

 

^^Brittan, Danielle, Natalie and I at the Tipsy Pig^^ 

Saturday morning we woke up early, grabbed coffee and bagel sandwiches and headed down to catch our ferry to Alcatraz. None of us had ever been to Alcatraz and it was such a neat experience. I would recommend it to anyone visiting, but make sure you book in advance as apparently you can't just walk on a ferry. We took an audio tour of the prison which was really cool and the views from the island were stunning. It probably helped that it was gorgeous all weekend (suck it, Seattle rain!). I just wish we would have been able to see more of the island and also I wish I knew more about all of the "Indains" graffiti all over (see: Indian Occupation).

^^The welcome sign at Alcatraz "Indians Welcome"^^

^^3 floors of jail cells in the prison at Alcatraz^^

^^Natalie in solitary confinement^^

^^Danielle and I and SF from Alcatraz^^

 

^^The Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz^^ 

After Alcatraz we hopped in an Uber driven by Dan, the best ever Uber driver, and headed to Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies, or as I refer to it, the Full House Houses! It was a little anticlimactic but I had never seen them before and I was glad to cross it off my bucket list.

^^The Painted Ladies from Alamo Square with downtown SF in the background^^

We grabbed lunch nearby then Danielle and I decided that it was necessary that we walk through the neighborhood in search of ice cream. We ended up at Smitten which was so good! You guys have to go if ever you're in San Francisco. They make small batches of ice cream using liquid nitrogen and the ice cream is so smooth and delicious. Danielle and I split a giant sundae which we were so excited about (obviously)!

 ^^Smitten is inside an old shipping container and it was the cutest^^

 

^^Danielle and I with our sundae that consisted of salted caramel ice cream, dark chocolate sauce, cookie crumbles and whipped cream^^

 

 ^^the liquid nitrogen doing it's thing^^

That night Danielle's friend Ashley and my friend Courtney who I love and who I worked with at Ground in Hood River (and her boyfriend Danny, yay Danny) met us for some delicious Sushi a few blocks from our apartment. Side note: I'm convinced that all of the food in San Francisco is delicious. Seriously. After sushi we headed down to the Mission district to meet up with some more friends and have some drinks. My friend Micah and his wife Alexis even came from Okland to meet up with us and I had a blast catching up with them. It had been too long! We ended the night by eating Mission style burritos in the Mission district (I mean, c'mon!).

^^Micah, me and Alexis^^

The next day we woke up, got ready, said goodbye to our roof and headed to the airport. We were all feeling ok until the Uber ride made us all want to vomit and die. But we made it home safe, sans vomit. It was a really amazing weekend getaway.

^^Waiting for our Uber, the last time we all felt decent for the rest of the day^^

Also, random things about San Francisco/our trip: it is sunny and 65degrees there in mid-November; all of the buildings in San Francisco are connected and it's so confusing and amazing and beautiful, it feels so much more romantic than modern Seattle; Uber in San Francisco is the best thing ever (ok they have it in Seattle too and really it's good everywhere); staying in an Air BnB is awesome and I would definitely recommend it, just be ready to maybe sleep with a knife by your round bed if your host creeps you out; AND finally, Brittan and I need to purchase round beds immediately because round beds are amazing, no joke. San Francisco, thank you for being so good to us, we heart you #itsofficial.

^^Brittan is going to kill me for this one - round bed 4eva!^^

 

^^best. rooftop. view. ever.^^