Vacation, Part One

I'm trying to figure out the best way to blog about this trip.

We left early Friday morning, around 7am. We made some good time, but stopped near Edwards for our first break. Once Miles was fed, and Geoff and Elijah had explored the little creek there, we were back on the road. We had packed some sandwiches, and found a park by the welcome center in Fruita, CO. At this point I offered to drive the next leg into Utah. We wanted to make some good time, and we prayed Miles would make it past the 110 miles between Green River & Salina where there are no services. He did, but it was a little painful at times. We ended up stopping in Beaver, which was not a good rest stop. It was a concrete gas station. I was tired from my small amount of driving, I guess Utah wasn't enough to keep me awake. The plan was to stop for dinner in Cedar City, UT before heading to our hotel in St. George, UT. Cedar City looked like such a neat town, I'd love to go back and see more. Geoff had researched some places to eat, and we settled on Sullivan's Cafe. Service was okay, the food was yummy enough. It was a short drive to St. George, like maybe 20 minutes or so. Geoff had gotten himself a slice of pie to go, so I hoped I'd be able to find a Dairy Queen or something near our hotel. Even better, was Iceberg Drive In. (I just discovered on their website they are presently only found in UT, but are expanding to CA, NV, & AZ) For $2, I got the biggest chocolate dipped cone you ever saw! (Athena, I almost took a picture of it for you, but I started eating it because it was like 105 degrees outside) On their menu, they had 48 ( I counted) different milkshake flavors! Our hotel wasn't great, but the bed was so comfy. This was also the start of Miles not sleeping through the night again.

We were off again at 7am, since we did have a wedding to get to. The continental breakfast hadn't been set up yet, so we left and just snacked on the granola bars we had packed. We were making good time again, and had our next stop in Primm, NV. It was well over 100 degrees there by 9am, and made for unpleasant conditions to breastfeed in. Elijah & Daddy walked around the outlet mall there (in hindsight, I should have gone in there to feed). Once they got back, they were going to head to the McDonalds to get juice for everyone. The line was too long, so we went to the Carl's Jr. I got juice for everyone and some hashbrowns too. While Geoff ducked in to use the bathroom, I heard Miles needing to be changed. Thank God he did it before we got on the road. We blazed through to Barstow, CA for lunch at In-N-Out. We made more good time and arrived in Orange County by 2pm. Since we couldn't check into the house until 3pm, we went to visit a favorite haunt, Peet's in Newport Beach. Killed some time sitting on the patio and then headed down PCH to Laguna Beach. Elijah was pretty excited to see the ocean (picture him yelling OCEAN).

We found the cottage with no problems. It was built in the 1920s, just one bedroom, a kitchen, dining room, and living room. They built the other two bedrooms when they started having children. It had a lot of charm, it felt cozy, and in good ways. Geoff went for a quick run, and I took to looking around, taking pictures then feeding Miles. Should have spent more time getting ready for the wedding, because we ended up running late. Had to call Jen and ask her to meet us there to pick up Elijah for their playdate. We did not anticipate the traffic being so bad near main street Laguna, so we were really running late. We ended having time to spare. Elijah was happy enough to go play with Jen, Greg and their dogs.

The wedding was beautiful. The temperature was perfect, and the ceremony was lovely. Amy was a glowing bride, she looked perfect. Once the ceremony was over, I went to find a place to feed Miles. Found a couch in the ladies room, and Geoff took pictures and mingled. Had my friend Pat come talk with me while I fed the baby, and learned the exciting news that Erik & Becky (whose wedding I attended in December) are moving to Colorado Springs at the end of the month. Whoo-hoo! Once I was done, I was able to mingle, and show off the baby. I inquired to Cindy that I hadn't seen Jake's parents (his mom had been in the hospital weeks leading up to the wedding). While she had gotten out of the hospital days before, she didn't have the strength. So they had arranged to have the wedding streamed online for them. How cool is that?

The reception was very nice, and we got to catch up with Pastor Frank & Cynda. Miles slept through dinner and the speeches on Geoff's lap. We chatted a ton with the Kroliks. We couldn't stay for the dance, I wanted to get the kids to bed, and it had been a long day. We went to pick up Elijah and then we headed to the cottage. No traffic worries at that time of night.

Okay so there's Friday and Saturday. I think this post is long enough. Better break it up, or you'll stop reading. :)