Vacation!

So as I have mentioned before, I lived for almost 5 years in Southern California. I LOVED it (minus traffic and earthquakes). However, when I got married and knew that we were going to start a family at some point, we decided to move closer to family (mine). So back to South Dakota it was. And even though I love my family and having Z close to them, I still get homesick for OC.

So for my 30th birthday, I told husband that all I wanted was to go back and visit my friends. No gifts, no party, just a flight to LAX, a hotel on the beach, and authentic California sushi.

So here we are!

Walking around the Omaha airport

Sleeping on the plane

We got a fantastic suite right off the beach in Capistrano Beach.  It was an amazing price, like super super cheap and we could walk approximately 20 steps and get to the water.

The view from our patio.

So many amazing sunsets.

No filters on this one.

My friend Alexis threw a little BBQ at her house the day after we arrived. We were able to visit with a bunch of old co-workers but the best part was Alexis had a son only a few months before we had Zeke. He had a built in friend to play with while we were out there. Since Z got up early because of the time change (and because he always gets up early) and Ben gets up early, we got to have breakfast and play time a few times with them. They are such a great family and it was so fun to hang out with them again.

Zeke's new friend Ben

We spent a couple of days at the beach. Z loved the water, even though it was FREEZING. He would totally be a beach baby if we still lived there.

Just lounging at the beach.

Cold Water! Still love it!

Chasing the water

Of course I have to mention the food. We had In-N-Out for our first and last meal there. It's weird, I didn't eat there that often when we lived there but when you can't have it...dang it's good. We also visited the local Trader Joe's. How much do I miss that store!!?! Anytime we go to Minneapolis or Omaha, I try to make a stop to pick up some of my faves (pita chips, salsa, hummus, and lately, chocolate covered potato chips). We also had Daphne's Greek (which has completely changed and is not as good as it used to be), a really expensive and not so good Mexican lunch, PF Changs, Chick-Fil-A (another franchise missing in SD) and SUSHI! Finally! The sushi in the Midwest isn't terrible but you can't beat fresh California sushi.

My "birthday" dinner

Zeke's table

We spent all of Wednesday traveling back. It was enough to make me not want to travel anywhere ever again. But it was a wonderful time and I can not wait to go back!

Til next time California!