Windbag post

I had all these plans of how I was going to post little bits about our trip over the week instead of doing one big post that's really long but clearly I was only able to put out two posts. And now it's Friday and we'll have all new stuff to blog about this weekend so I am just going to have to do what I said I wouldn't do and post a big thing about our trip. I know you don't care that much. But you are my friends so maybe you will read anyway. I will keep remarks short and there will be pictures, so at least that's something.

We did see the Hollywood sign and drove through Beverly Hills a bit:
I made Paul call me Audrina during this time because I was pretty sure I was on the Hills.

One of my favorite things we did was rent beach cruisers and ride all up and down the beaches:
How cute is my bike? My favorite part is the basket.

We also caught an Angels game while we were there (one more check mark on my list of stadiums). We were trying to buy tickets from a scalper when a guy ran up and said, "I can't believe you are selling the tickets I just gave you!!" He grabbed the tickets out of the guy's hand and gave them to us. They were great seats too:
He wouldn't accept any money for them and just said, "Buy us a round inside." So we did! There's nothing more odd than a 6-months pregnant Mormon girl walking around with two beers!! It was a little awkward but it was the least we could do. They were really cool and we had a great time at the game and the awesome fireworks show afterwards.

Of course we had to see the Griffith Observatory. You probably recognize it from a very famous cinematic masterpiece: Paula Abdul's "Rush, Rush" video with Keanu Reeves. :) Just kidding! (but that's true) Obviously my Mom is going to recognize it from "Rebel Without a Cause" because she loves James Dean. It was a fun place with amazing views of the city:

It goes without saying that I had to sample the local cupcakes. I identified two good shops to try and directed Paul there. We were getting out of the car and he asked, "Which one are we going to?" I looked at him with shock said, "BOTH, OBVIOUSLY!!" He acted surprised but one bite into the first shop he was right there with me, critiquing the cupcakes ("This one's a little dry, I like this frosting, etc..."). We visited Vanilla Bake Shop and Yummy Cupcakes. Yummy had way more flavors but Vanilla won the contest with moister, denser cupcakes. At Yummy, we ordered (below, clockwise from top left) Peach Cobbler, Peanut Butter Cup, Old Fashioned, and Vanilla/Chocolate:At Vanilla, we ordered Chocolate Mint and "Birthday Cake":
One day of our trip we took a little jaunt down to San Diego. We visited Sea World and had a fun time. We really loved the shows but man, the scripts and music were so cheesy and touchy/feely. I made a comment to Paul about that and he said, "What do you expect? They were written by Janice Kapp Perry." It could have been so true.
That night I made Paul go on a walking tour of the Gaslamp quarter. I downloaded it to my phone and made him stop on every corner while I told him what year a certain building was built or why it was originally built as people around us walked in and out of bars and restaurants. He actually loved it and even though we were the biggest geeks on the street, we were definitely the most well-informed:
Of course, we took a ride on the famous ferris wheel on Santa Monica pier. We did it at night and it was actually a very fun/romantic little activity. I think I heard they sold the ferris wheel so I'm glad we did it. Here's a shot of Paul and the pier:
For those of you who didn't know (I didn't), route 66 ends in Santa Monica. This little plaque commemorates that and I was so happy I found it because now I know what I want on my gravestone - "Humorist, World Traveler, Good Neighbor." Which of the three characteristics do you think I have to work on most to deserve the label?