Two Christmas's ago, my Mom gifted all of us girls a trip! We were supposed to do it last May but with covid it got postponed. Timing wasn't ideal with Jennie and Sisten having babies and me being 31 weeks pregnant but we are soooo glad we still did it!!
We flew into Santa Ana and stayed at a condo near Balboa Peninsula just one block from the beach. It was our first girls trip that was more than just one night somewhere outside of Utah. It was amazing and the best trip EVER!! We can't wait to do it again in a couple years!
We flew in Wednesday evening and just walked along the beach, walked to a taco place for dinner, walked to get donuts for dessert and walked to the grocery store. LOTS of walking...and I worried if I would be over-doing it too much on the trip with pregnancy. In the end it was just fine.
The first full day (Thursday) we went on a "Whale watching tour". I put it in parenthesis because we didnt actually see ANYTHING except birds :). So...we got half our money back. But the boat ride itself was pretty fun. I am not a huge boating/water fan like everyone else but I'm glad we still did it. Then we ate at a super yummy seafood place right on the Harbor called Harborside Grill. The coconut shrimp and orange crusted salmon were amazing. In the afternoon we drove to Balboa Island and drove around the super cute homes, walked around shops and then went back to the condo for games and treats and talking (which was a nightly thing!).
On Friday, we didn't have too much on the schedule but we spent some time at Crystal Cove State Park. We walked to the tide pools and explored there for a while. We drove around some more areas for fun and ate yummy food before and after Crystal Cove (Wild Strawberry Cafe for lunch and Ruby's diner for dinner- which was just okay). We watched some surfers and saw some dolphins in the distance.
Saturday was the first day we actually made a plan the night before and fit a LOT of things in in the day! The morning, everyone except Mom and I went on a Segway "tour" (mainly just a ride around the city/beach). They said it was tons of fun. Since I am pregnant, I was not allowed to go. Then we went to Sancho's Tacos (super yummy!) and then headed to the harbor for kayak rentals. It was probably the highlight of the trip as far as activities go. I just love kayaking so much and it was fun to do it somewhere totally new. We kayaked around the harbor and it was fun to see the millions of dollars put into the homes and boats/yachts around there. So many cute homes to look at. We kayaked for about an hour and then headed to Laguna Beach. Laguna was SOOOO busy so we didn't have tons of time there but we went into an art store and saw the cutest ally way which led us to the worlds best gelato called Gelato Paradiso. It was SO good. Then we went to a late reservation at an Italian place called Spaghetti Bender and I ordered WAY too much food. Of course we ended the night with more games and talking and going to bed way too late.
On Sunday, we had to wake up earlier than normal (8:30 am haha) and get packed and out the doors by 10:00 am. We spent some time near the beach before heading to lunch at Flower Child (amazing salads and healthy food- my kind of place!). After lunch we went to Sacrament Meeting near the Newport temple and walked around the temple for a while. The temple grounds were incredibly gorgeous and if it weren't for me being with my sisters, I may have had a spiritual time there :)! They are so great. We had the best trip!!! It was hard going home but I am so grateful for the time we were able to all spend together. Over the last year and bit I have become so much closer to them and love them more and more all the time. \
I am also grateful for my wonderful husband who allowed me to go and my girls who were troopers and my in-laws for being here and helping take care of the girls. I think Jane had a good time and wasn't too scarred because Grandma and Grandpa were here to give her attention. It was a wonderful time!!!
