san diego vacation

July 31, 2013- August 4, 2013
we finally got a much-needed vacation this year! after lots and lots of working and school, we grabbed an opportunity to take a small break and head to the west coast for drake's cousin sam's wedding in the san diego temple. at first, we didn't think there would be much of a chance of us getting to take the trip, but then we were invited by drake and sam's good friend (and drake's coworker) to carpool with them. splitting the cost of gas definitely made the decision easier and we found ourselves making plans.

our carpool partners: josh and sloan dalley

even better, margaret informed me of a great discounted deal through costco that was a san diego fun package. we were able to get tickets to the san diego zoo, zoo safari, and seaworld for just over $100 each. huuuuuuuge savings right there. so we made arrangements at our work to get wednesday though sunday off and then set off on wednesday morning. 

there were multiple peoples slightly concerned about me traveling so far at 30 weeks, but let me just say this: i kicked this trip in the butt! the worst of my concerns was a sunburn and slight nausea in the car once or twice, no big deal. i had no swelling, blood clots, or cramping. (i'll probably never have a pregnancy this easy again!) for the whole drive down, i basically sprawled myself in the back seat of our carpool car and made myself comfortable. drake is honestly the sweetest for putting up me and all my positions. i love him.the ride was very loooooong, but still better than expected. we stopped frequently for peeing and stretching and i wore some very sexy compression stockings that kept my blood circulation flowing. if i wasn't eating or talking, i was drooling on my pillow in drake's lap. 

happy and content in the backseat. only fourteen hours to go!

after stopping at a family friend of sloan's for wednesday night, we finished our two hour trek into san diego the next morning and hit up an intense day of seaworld bliss. our first stop was of course the shamu show. i was completely in awe at how huge those killer whales were. i mean, i know that they are big... but seeing it in person was amazing. of course we sat in the super soaker section, and got completely drenched from head to toe. i didn't think it would be that bad :) but we were indeed super soaked. thank goodness i opted out of the white shorts for this day! however, the cool water felt good in the scorching sun and we dried off quickly. the show was amazing. 

us, pre-soaked at the shamu show

stinking adorable baby killer whale following after mama

we also saw shows involving dolphins, seals, otters, and even a cirque du soleil performance! i didn't imagine having so much fun here! the walking wasn't bad at all because we were always on our way to a show and we got to sit and rest. no one remembered sunscreen however, and this day josh and i got ourselves some pretty red sunburns. i guess i'm not old enough to vacation without my mother ;)

drake and i before leaving seaworld

friday morning we all woke to an early morning at the beach! the wedding was in the afternoon and we'd have a slight drive to get there so we only had a few hours. we didn't quite manage to find an awesome beach and the water was too cold for me, so i sat on the sand and soaked  up some sun with sloan while drake and josh jumped in the water.

 

then, we rushed back to the hotel and freshened up for the wedding at the gorgeous san diego temple. i feel so blessed that we were able to be there for sam and vanessa's special day. it was a beautiful sealing of beautiful people in a beautiful place. a treasured memory. we love sam and vanessa so much!

introducing mr. and mrs. hunt!!

after their sealing, we decided we'd take off on our own again. we went to joe's crab shack for some yummy seafood on the beach and then played all night on mission beach. the crab was delicious and we had a view of the ocean on the boardwalk. then, sloan and i hit a mall for a little bit where we got some great deals and i bought some cute decorations for zenna's nursery. we also had a terrifying scare where my paper bag ripped open and drake's wallet fell out. i was terrified someone stole it, but thankfully someone turned it in at the previous store and sloan found it (we had taken off in opposite directions). i literally was worried i might go into labor over that one! then, we returned to our boys and found a carnival with rides and stores that we walked through before hanging out on the beach again. suddenly, fireworks from seaworld behind us started going off and we enjoyed fireworks from the beach. it was a great night full of laughter and fun.
on saturday morning, sloan and josh dropped us off at the san diego zoo. we had until 3:30 before we'd have to leave to go to sam and vanessa's wedding reception and the zoo is huuuuge. so we basically put it in fast gear and took off. with plenty of water and shade, i was able to hang in there pretty dang good. we only stopped once for twenty minutes to eat lunch and rest, then we were back at it. sadly, we didn't make it to the baby pandas because the line was soo huge, but we pretty much hit everything else! the tiger was stingy and not showing himself- twice! but we did see some really awesome sights and enjoyed our time.

 

 the grizzly bear was honestly one of the few animals awake and playing. we went all the way to california to enjoy him :) and there was a two month old baby giraffe being so cute and shy behind the tower. i loved her!

 

the rhino was really cool too. we watched the trainer call him by name until he came out of the cool pool of water. he walked up to the gate and when the trainer put her hand out, he nudged it with his horn and received a treat. then the trainer moved her hand out another step and repeated the process until he was all the way inside another pen. it was really fun to watch! 

 

 

these galapogos island turtles were amazingly huge! drake is trying to get in the picture to show how humongous they were. there was a zoo worker speaking to a little group of people and he said these turtles' hearts only beat SIX times per hour! i was amazed. no wonder they live soooo long! they can be 150 years old! 

 

the snake exhibit entranced us. we took a little longer here than anywhere else. on the left is a two-headed snake. he was supposed to be born twins, but the sack didn't separate completely. so now they share a body. each head gets fed while the other head is hid from view so one head doesn't injure the other one. 

saturday night we hit the reception which had lots of dancing, music, and great food. we had a lot of fun celebrating sam and vanessa, but sadly our trip had to come to an end and that night we left to stay at sloan's family friend's place again. i would have loved one more day to play in san diego- i hope we return one day!
driving home sunday was a loooooong day. we went to a sacrament meeting on the way out of california. it was spanish speaking :) drake and josh loved it, sloan and i just smiled through it and did our best. drake has been trying to convince me to go to the nearest spanish speaking ward now. then, while driving the long stretch towards vegas, we got stuck in traffic. two hours of nearly completely stopped. we moved eight measly miles in two hours! holy crap! it definitely put us a little behind schedule and we didn't get home until 1:30 am. ouch. then, the next morning, bright and early we started our work week. it also happened to be fair week. no rest and relaxation for us yet!!