I'm Horrible at Updating!

Good heavens, I'm really bad at keeping this blog updated! Let's see...since the last time I posted at the end of February:

MARCH 

San Diego

Chris and I celebrated our seven year anniversary (two of those, being married) by taking a trip to San Diego. We stayed at the Hacienda Hotel in Old Town San Diego.

Best Western Hacienda Hotel

I've been staying there since I was a little kid with my family, and we stayed there last year for our anniversary as well. The best views are from the 600 and 500 buildings. From there you have a view all the way out to the coast.

Staying in Old Town is great because you're in walking distance to so many interesting "tourist" spots! The restaurant we always have to visit is the Cosmopolitan Hotel - when I was little, it was known as Casa de Bandini and was a typical Mexican restaurant. Today, after a few years of renovations, they have restored the Cosmopolitan to it's roots, a Bed and Breakfast with a restaurant featuring a more upscale menu.

Chris and I go mainly for their drinks. Chris' favorite is the Sazerac Cocktail (Sazerac rye whiskey, Absinthe, and Peychaud's Bitters) and my favorite is the Lady Seeley's Violette Fizz (Oxley gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Creme d'Yvette, lemon juice, sugar, and soda water). Unfortunately for me, on this trip I had to just make due with Diet Coke :( We also like this place because it was featured on Ghost Adventures!

Trolley

On this trip we did something we hadn't done before - we bought a two-day pass for the Old Town Trolley Tour.

It's a hop-on/hop-off tour that takes you all around the city. The stops include: Old Town, USS Midway, Seaport Village, Horton Plaza, Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado, Balboa Park, and Little Italy to name a few. Our first day we stayed on the trolley the whole time, except we jumped off at a stop on Coronado.

Hotel del Coronado

It's a great way to tour the city, we saw places we don't normally visit! Our second day we used the trolley to take us to the USS Midway, then we walked over to Little Italy to have lunch, hopped back on the trolley to take us back to Old Town.

Standing outside the USS Midway

Chris with the landing signal officer

Chris testing out the controls

Gnocchi with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, and pesto cream from Trattoria Fantastica in Little Italy

When we bought our trolley tickets (side note: there is a kiosk set up in Old Town to buy all these tickets and more), we also bought a two hour harbor tour on the Hornblower. The first part of the cruise they take you along the south side of the bay and you go underneath the Coronado Bridge and you get to see all the naval ships.

Bridge to Coronado Island

Chris with the USS Midway behind him

The second part is along the north side of the bay and the best part is you get to see all the Sea Lions basking in the sun, soaking up the rays!

Hodad's

Hodad's is a burger restaurant in Ocean Beach that was featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives and is known for their bacon patties! Chris hadn't been here before so we made a stop for lunch to stuff our faces :) Get there as it opens because there is always a line out in front!

I'm pretty sure he ate the whole thing!

Galco's

At the end of March, we made a trip out to Galco's in Pasadena to get some fun, retro sodas. I had first heard about Galco's back in the early 2000s when Huell Howser visited the shop on his show. My family and I had made a trek or two up there from Lake Forest because of Huell (and my dad's love of bottles). They have hundreds of different types of sodas, yes they still carry the same kind you would find in Ralph's, but it's more of a specialty shop.

Soooo many sodas!

I stocked up on different types of creme sodas, and I think Chris' favorite find during this trip was the Cucumber Soda! Personally, I don't like the taste of cucumbers, but it had a crisp, refreshing taste.

Chocolate Tour

Also in March, my aunt Rebecca booked my sisters, cousins, and I on the Beverly Hills Walking Chocolate Tour. Located near Rodeo Drive, this tour takes you around to a few locations: Sprinkles, Coupa Cafe, The American Tea Room, Vosges Haut-Chocolate, The Beverly Hills Brownie Company, and I think everyone's favorite: The Cheese Store.

The Cheese Store

You have a tour guide and in each location you get to try some samples and then spend a little time looking around each store and make purchases.

The Beverly Hills Brownie Company

It was pretty fun, I felt like such a tourist since I only live a couple miles away, but it was neat because I never visit this area of L.A.! My sister Katy was pretty happy because she parked near Lisa Vanderpump's (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) restaurant, Villa Blanca, and she saw someone from the show.

APRIL

Tosh.0

Comedy Central films Tosh.0 close by our home over in Culver City. I had put my name on a wait list through On-Camera Audiences to go to a taping of the show so long ago that I had forgotten I had done it! Well I finally got an email letting me know it was my turn...you have to show up a few hours early, wait in a line, and then hope you can get a seat because it's first come, first serve.

Waiting outside the Tosh.0 offices

We got there early enough, but by the time they started letting people in when we got to the front of the line it was standing room only. I think I was around six and a half months pregnant by then and I did NOT want to stand on my feet for another two hours! So we declined and they gave us priority passes to another taping on a different day. Fast forward two weeks, we went back to the studio, got to the front of the line and got to sit in the second row, right next to the aisle. It was a fun experience, almost like just watching Daniel Tosh do stand-up. He runs through the episode one time, the he goes back a second to redo any lines or to try out different jokes. If you're a fan of his, I'd recommend putting your name on the wait list now!

MAY

We've slowed down on our excursions as I near my due date. We've been busy with weekend baby classes and getting everything ready. I can't do much walking before I tire myself out! This wasn't much of an excursion, but we held my baby shower at the Cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey, it's right on the Mother's Beach with a great view (and it's like a mile from my home - great distance for me!!).

Chris' grandparents, Connie and Bonnie

And apparently it's a great spot for celebrity sightings because Gwen Stefani was on the beach with her kids for a birthday party!

Photo taken by my paparazzi father

And if you're an Arrested Development fan, this is the same beach where Gob makes the yacht "disappear" :P

The Grand Illusion!

Tomorrow I will be eight months pregnant (it's a boy if I haven't already mentioned) and we don't have any upcoming excursion plans. I keep trying to plan something (E.g., Knott's Berry Farm [passes are cheap right now!], the beach, one last weekend getaway) but Chris reminds me that I'm pregnant and I'm in bed before 9pm. We haven't even been going out to eat dinner anywhere fun! So if anything does come up slightly interesting, I'll post about it, but for now we're acting as homebodies!
xx, Chrissy