Monday we got into Long Beach at 7 am...I know! What were we thinking! To achieve such an early start we had to leave Salt Lake at 6 am...which translates into me pulling an all nighter. :) Our first stop was to pick up the rental car - it was my first rental car. Then we called the hotel and pleaded for a super early check-in to which they complied. This made me fall in love with our hotel. That and the woman (who we call elevator lady) Lynette met later in the week. She said she was going to all the states in the West on their way to their destination EXCEPT Utah. She informed her that she was the designated driver of a designated drinker and Utah didn't offer what they were looking for. Ha! Anyway, then we napped. Upon waking up we hopped in the car and headed to Santa Monica. We laid on the beach, walked the pier, and walked around the shops.
Tuesday was overcast as well so we had no problem sleeping in. Then the first stop was the Newport Beach Temple where we did a session. I LOVED this temple. I was able to get my own personal tour of this temple and got all the stories. The woodwork was amazing, they had arched doorways. When you first walk in there is a huge painting of Christ holding a lamb in the lobby and straight across from it was a window that you could see into the babtistry. I was awestruck. The lady that was showing me around told me a story about the painting that gave me chills. I guess someone asked the painter what his inspiration was for the animals and he said he went to a farm in Utah to take pictures. He said that while he was there he was having a hard time getting a pictures of the lamb's being held. They were super stiff and wouldn't hold still. Then one guy walked out grabbed a lamb and it relaxed and just laid there. He said that guy was the owner of the farm. I got chills.
After the temple we went to Newport Beach. Here we laid out on the beach for the rest of the day and were able to talk to some of the locals. One guy (we call him pier man) walked up to Lynette and said "you must not be from California, you're too white." And when we told him we were from Utah his response was, "Oh, I don't drink." Ha. I love their perception of us. He was very nice (as was most of the people we met). After the beach we went to a local Italian restaurant (thanks to yelp) called Mama D's where I got their famous pink sauce. It was DELICIOUS. It was here we met "waiter Nick" who walked us through the entire menu. He was great and got a big tip from us. :)
Wednesday was the fourth of July so of course we had to see the fireworks over the ocean...Duh! We went to Huntington Beach this day (per the suggestion of pier man). It was crazy crowded so we had to get there early. All we did was sit on the beach and read for hours! It was great! It did get a little cold and it was overcast this day as well but we both managed to get burned. :) The fireworks were top notch. I was impressed by the grand finale.
Thursday was our last day. It was overcast as well. Ha! But I wanted to see Laguna Beach so that is where we headed. We checked out of our hotel that morning and loaded up. Laguna Beach was so different from the rest of the beaches. It was rockier and the beach was shorter. I liked it! I thought it was beautiful. We walked around the shops here as well (which were a little out of our price range). We did find a place called "The Hat Box". I love hats...more than should be allowed, so this was right up my alley. This is where we met a lady (who we call "hat box lady"). She was AWESOME and told me to go to school at the fashion institute and learn how to make hats. :) Maybe I will. She found out we were from Utah and said she has heard about Cache Valley from a painter friend and wanted to move there. One of her reasons - she likes to live near Mormon's (even though she's not one) because of their survival techniques. That was a new one to me! Ha! Her exact words, "They won't even let us have guns here. I don't want to be around when the s**t hits the fan." Priceless. She was my favorite.
Then we headed home. Bon Voyage California! You did us right even though the weather didn't. :)
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