San Diego and Vegas

Josh and I had realized, earlier this year, that we hadn't really gone on vacation just the two of us since we got married. So we decided to take one last trip before our little girl is born.  We settled on San Diego and Las Vegas.

We left for San Diego on a Friday night.  When we got there, we were told that our hotel had been overbooked so we were moved next door for the night.  The next morning we got up early to pick up our rental car, then headed out for the day.  Our first stop was breakfast.  We found a great little restaurant where Josh had a pancake and eggs and I had Corned Beef Hash.  "Only one pancake?!"  Yes one pancake! It was HUGE!

After breakfast, we headed to the San Diego Zoo.  For those of you who have not been there, it is GINORMOUS!  The whole zoo is covered in trees and plants. There are so many paths all over, that it is very easy to get lost in. We saw almost all of the animals and it only took us 4 hours!  We also took a ride on the Sky Tram, which is like a chair lift/gondola.

 We had planned on going to a Science Museum but were pooped after the zoo.  So we headed back to the hotel to rest.  Later that night, we walked along the water right behind our hotel to go out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  In the Marina we saw a ton of really nice yachts.  There was one that was really fancy.  It had all kinds of satellites and antennas and even had a helicopter.  On further investigation, we discovered that it belonged to one of the founders of Apple.

This is baby bump at almost 23 weeks.

The next morning was Easter so we got dressed up and took ourselves out to brunch. We had found and booked brunch at a hotel named The Bahia.  We ate in a ballroom complete with chandeliers and a piano player.  There was ham, roast beef, eggplant parmesan, eggs, crepes, fruit, bagels, desserts, and the largest pile of shrimp I have ever seen.  The table it was on was 3 ft wide and the shrimp was piled at least a foot high! After that we headed up to Oceanside, CA.  On the way there we also drove past the San Diego Temple and walked around on the grounds.

Looks fake, doesn't it?!

This tent says: Temporary Visitors Center ;)

To get to Oceanside, we drove along the coast on Highway 101.  When we got there  we walked out on the pier to Ruby's Diner.  Here we had yummy milkshakes and burgers for lunch.  

Funny sign on the pier.

When we got back to San Diego, we met up with a friend, who is a Marine, and was able to take us out onto the Coronado Naval Base.  We got to see an Aircraft Carrier up close and then went to the private beach.  The sand was pristine and we had such a great time walking the beaching and catching up as the sun was setting.  Then we headed to the Hotel Coronado for a light dinner. Overall, it was a great day.

The next morning, we packed up, got in the car, and headed up to Las Vegas.  It was a 6 hour drive, but we also stopped along the way in Murrieta, where Josh lived when he was younger.  

When we got to Las Vegas, we stopped at the Las Vegas Temple and walked around the grounds.  TWO TEMPLES IN TWO DAYS!

Then we checked into our room at The Luxor.  We got a great deal on a Pyramid Suite.  Our room had a king sized bed, bathroom, sitting room, and a big tub that overlooked the strip.  I forgot to mention that The Luxor is a pyramid so the walls in our room were slanted and the elevator went up at a diagonal (SO CREEPY). 

After changing clothes, we headed out on the strip.  First, we walked two hotels down (Excalibur and New York New York) to The Monte Carlo. 

 There we picked up our show tickets and ate dinner.  Then we took a tram to The Bellagio to explore the hotel and watch the famous fountains.

Bellagio Garden inside the hotel.

LAS VEGAS AT NIGHT!!

     

Then we headed back to The Monte Carlo for our show.  Originally, we had wanted to see Cirque Du Soleil "O" at The Bellagio, but there wasn't a performance the night that we were in Vegas. Instead we saw THE BLUE MAN GROUP!!  It was such an amazing show.  We sat in the 2nd row which was part of what they called the "Poncho Section".  The reason for the Ponchos was that during one of their 'skits', they shot out mushed bananas out of a hole on their costumes.  It was pretty gross.  It is hard to explain what the show was. YouTube it for a better idea.

The next morning, we took the tram back to the Bellagio for breakfast. We had a delicious brunch and then headed out on the strip. We went into a ton of hotels along the way: Paris, Caesar's Palace, Mirage, Treasure Island, and Venetian.  We probably spent the most time walking through Venetian.  Inside, it looks like you are in Venice.  The ceiling is painted blue and covered in clouds, all the stores look like they are in Italy, and there is even a canal with Gondolas thru the middle of it.  We also stopped and had gelato.

After a lot of walking and lots of noisy and smelly casinos, we were ready to head home.  

It was so much fun having a long weekend away, just the two of us. And our next big vacation will be the THREE OF US!!