Road Trip

We recently returned from the first of many "sanity vacations".How do you possibly do this on a limited budget and short notice?
1. Work so much that you have comp time up the wazoo
2. Travel so much for work that you have enough points for a free night stay at a beautiful resort
3. Have connections related to travel (i.e. friends that work for hotels) that let you have awesome rates for the other nights. *Thanks Krista-you're thebomb.com
4. Conveniently work for a state that has Fridays off...and a holiday on Monday
5. Participate in activities that cost next to nothing. AKA "Beach Hopping"We needed a break from reality, so we packed up the car and headed to Cali. We all love the ocean and thought that Cole would really enjoy one last bit of summer.As much as we travel, we've never really been anywhere with just the three of us. We also realized that this was Cole's first time in a hotel. He really enjoyed calling the front desk.We finally just unplugged the phones.

We had a wonderful time and the drive wasn't even that bad. We broke it up and stayed in St George to make things more manageable. Cole has a thing for his grandpa and continued to ask for him while we were in California. Brian and I got to talk a lot and we made some decisions regarding Cole's health. We want to thank all of you that have been supporting us through this. We think we're going to make these little get-aways a tradition or we will possibly go insane. I think that I may already have diagnosed myself as mentally unstable! :) Any suggestions for the next trip?

We went to Huntington Beach first. We had blue skies, no wind, and not a cloud to be seen. A lot of people had the same idea as us, but we marked out a patch of sand and had a great time.Cole also enjoyed eating it, rolling in it and being thoroughly covered in sand. I am still finding in in my purse, shoes, car, etc.

We then made our way to San Diego. The weather continued to be perfect. We went to the temple, ate Mexican food in Old Town, watched the sunset and just played. We went to La Jolla, Coronado and Mission Beach. That is one thing I love about San Diego-the beaches are so beautiful.

Cole was awesome! The only time he had trouble was when we had to leave the beach. I think that he could feel mom and dad relax a little, plus he is a big fan of the water. At night, things were interesting. Cole won't go to bed unless it is dark and quiet. Brian and I ended up going to bed at 8:20 one night because we were all in the same room together. Every so often we would hear a soft, "Hi" as Cole would try to get a response, knowing we were right there. He would occasionally say things like, "Night, Dad!" and we would have to try and keep our laughter quiet.

We really needed the break and can't wait until we can get away again.