One Of My Favorite Places

Huntington Beach, California. I love it there. I love the ocean, watching the surfers, walking on the beach, and the overall laid back feeling of that place.

Lucky for me, Mitch travels there quite often for work. Usually they put him up in the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, which is a very nice hotel and is literally a walk across a bridge to the beach.

Everything worked out perfectly a couple of weeks ago and  I was able to spend 4 days in HB with my Hubby. We had enough sky miles for me to fly for free, and his food per diem covers enough for me too, so it was basically free for me to go. Also it was Mitch's spring break from school so he had his evenings free, which was so nice for me, but especially for him I'm sure! He really needed a little break from school.

Mitch flew in on Monday and I joined him on Wednesday so that I could attend the photography class on Tuesday that Mitch gave me as a gift for Valentine's Day. (The class was great! I enjoyed it and learned a lot!) My mom, grandma, Layla and I went to lunch right before they dropped me off at the airport. And I'm not going to lie ... I cried a few tears when they dropped me off. Partly due to pregnancy hormones and partly because I knew I was going to miss Layla like crazy. (She stayed with my parents.) It's funny how I can be SO excited to get away and have a break from mommyhood, yet dread leaving my baby girl at the same time. Ha, ha.

I think Mitch was worried about me being bored while he was at work, but I kept telling him that I was just enjoying the silence and not having to constantly worry and watch a toddler. I may or may not have still called Layla twice a day because I missed her, but I did enjoy only having to worry about myself for a few days. 

While Mitch was at work I went on long walks on the boardwalk to the pier. I enjoyed practicing photography during my walks. I practiced a new technique I learned called panning. I still need some practice:

I also enjoyed talking to local people, watching the surfers, reading books, and taking plenty of naps. I actually came down with a pretty nasty head cold while we were there, so that put a damper on things, but I still enjoyed myself. I absolutely loved seeing the foggy, cloudy weather conditions and the way it made the ocean look extra beautiful. I have this fascination with the ocean that Mitch says he doesn't understand, but I just tell him that I was supposed to be born and live near the ocean, there was just a mistake made somewhere along the line. :)

One morning, while I was sitting on the pier, I watched a pod of about one dozen dolphins swim very near the surfers. It was so neat to watch them! I wished so badly I was one of those surfers, so close the the dolphins! I also saw a pelican on the pier who kept waiting for one of the fishermen to drop a fish. He was a pretty bird and not shy at all.

Of course, Mitch had to work during the day, but in the evenings we went to dinner and checked out the area a little more. I kind of feel like all we did was eat, but it sure was yummy! We went to the same Italian Restaurant in Long Beach that we discovered when we were there last year. It is called L' Opera and it is absolutely amazing. I don't usually freak out over food, but seriously, it is SO good we both just go on and on about it's amazingness. We even ordered dessert this time, creme brulee, and it was just as good as their food. Everything we've ever ordered there is mouth watering, plate-licking good. We also ate at Fred's, which is a Mexican restaurant in downtown HB, but it is a very different tasting Mexican food and we both like it a lot. And one night we had some yummy Thai food at a place in Newport Beach.

Our last morning there we planned to walk to the pier at eat at Ruby's. From the hotel to the end of the pier is 1.25 miles. I made it about half way before I could go no farther, despite having walked to the pier several time over the previous three days. Unfortunately on that day my cold symptoms were pretty bad, and that on top of being 7.5 months pregnant, I just couldn't do it. So we ate at a little restaurant on the boardwalk instead, which still had nice ocean views.

I talked to this fisherman for quite a while and he loved having his picture taken.
He was hilarious.

It was a nice little trip. Probably one of our last for a while, seeing as how we'll soon have TWO kids (which still kind of scares me), and it will be harder to get away. I was excited to go home and see Layla. I missed her, but truly enjoyed a little "me time" and some time with just my hubby. He knows how much I love that place and always tries his best to have me come when it works out. Love that man.

Self-timer pic in our hotel room.
Should have at least taken one of us at the beach or something,
but I was way too lazy to pack my camera down on the way to dinner. Next time.

Thanks to my parents for watching Layla! It worked out nice because my mom had two days off for spring break anyways (she works for the school district), and so she only had to take one day off. I really appreciate it and I know Layla had SO much fun. I heard for several days after we got home about the fire they made to roast marshmallows, the trip they took to Sam's Club to get samples (one of Layla's favorite things to do), and all the other fun things they did. I'm glad she had a fun time while we were away and it comforted me to know she was well taken care of.