I'm Back! And I am freezing my keister off....

because there is a big difference from 89 degrees to 28 degrees with snow. Kenny and I took a trip to California for 6 days....without kids. It was a much needed break from our stressful, crazy lives.

GETTING THERE
Our adventure began when we flew out of the Pocatello airport in a TINY plane. I have flown a lot but never in a little Cessna.

Flying in this little plane was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I loved being able to walk right to the plane, load our bags and go. No security check and waiting.

We made it!
We then flew out of SLC to Long Beach and as soon as I stepped off the plane I could smell it..... Ocean, I have missed you.

LONG BEACH

We checked out the Queen Mary. It is a huge and beautiful ship, and reminded me of the Titanic. My Grandmother Hall's brother who was killed in WWII, was transported to Europe on the Queen Mary. Some interesting facts-

Maiden Voyage: May 27, 1936
Portholes: Over 2,000
Rivets: Over 10 million

War Service: March 1940 - September 1946 War History: Carried a total of 765,429 military personnel. Sailed a total of 569,429 miles (916,407 km). Carried up to 15,000 troops at one time. Carried wounded returning to the United States. Transported Winston Churchill three times to conferences. Carried 12,886 G.I. brides and children.
Resumed Peacetime Passenger Service: July 31, 1947
Retired from Regular Passenger Service: September 19, 1967 (after completing 1,001 crossings of the Atlantic)

The Queen Mary on her maiden voyage.

I loved this old telephone booth. Kenny thought I was a spaz.In this picture you can see the Queen Mary from the other side of the bay.

I LOVE this picture. This is the view from the Tiki Restaurant where we had lunch. We lounged here for several hours enjoying the sun and the comfortable furniture and the view.

Here are some pics of the Long Beach Board Walk.

REDONDO/HERMOSA BEACH

I had a hard time picking which pictures to include there were just so many! This was my favorite stop on our trip. I love it here. It is so beautiful and I could not get enough of the ocean. Our hotel was right on Redondo beach. It was a 5 minute walk to Hermosa beach which was my favorite.

See all the houses along the beach? They were so beautiful. We found one house for rent that was open. The landlord let us walk through. It was 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, maybe 1100 sq ft and only $3750 a month to rent! All that separates the house from the beach is a two lane sidewalk and a short stone wall about thigh high. This was one of the bigger houses on the beach.

Awww....

We also enjoyed walking along the Redondo Pier-

Morning Fog

Nothing beats fresh sea food!

VENICE BEACH

ORLANDO BLOOM

When we went to find a parking spot at Venice Beach they directed us to a different lot because a movie crew was camped out in another lot. I could see all the trailers and equipment but I did not think anything about it.
So we are walking along and I realize suddenly that I am surrounded by papparazzi. I looked up and there was Orlando Bloom filming a movie. I still can't figure out who the girl is.....

DISNEY LAND

What does Kenny have to say about the Happiest Place on Earth?.....

WORD.
ha ha ha!

HOLLYWOOD

COMING HOME

The weather was not so great on our flight home. There was a large storm in Utah and the ride was pretty rough. I won't lie, I was scared to death! I was very grateful when we landed.

Although we had a great time and loved our trip we were so glad to be home. I love the mountains and the wide open spaces here in Idaho.