Um... So We Went On Vacation 4 Months Ago

And I'm finally going to share. Give me a break, I had tumahs all over.

Mr. Superman got home in the last days of March from deployment and we knew we wanted to take some time off from our lives here in GA not only to relax and see loved ones, but to FINALLY reconnect as a couple. Anyone who's gone through military separations (especially deployments) know how very vital this is. We decided we wanted to wait until Summertime so we could be gone longer and see more family since everyone would be out of school no matter what state they were in. He seriously had to submit his leave time shortly after getting to Afghanistan when it was still 10 months away. Its like pulling teeth to get leave with his shop and supervisors and get it approved by command... I digress.

After packing meticulously for a 3 week, 3 states, 3 different weather situations vacation, and then weighing said luggage a buttload of times to make sure we weren't over the weight limit, we were on our way!

We flew from Valdosta to Atlanta to Salt Lake City where his parents and sisters live. It had been over 18 months since any family had seen him except his parents and sister Katie. That first night some cousins, an aunt and uncle, and his nana came over to his parents to see him and hang out a bit. We had plans to go to dinner and a movie with The Annoyed Army Wife and OccDoc before taking off to Newport Beach, CA but that week was actually the beginning of my tumors and sickness getting really bad. I was bummed but they totally understood and we have tentative plans to get together at Christmas time!

We spent a couple days in Utah before heading to Newport Beach for a week at his grandparents timeshare. His parents and two sisters were in one car and they were kind enough to let us drive their Jeep as our vehicle while away from GA. Katie roadtripped with us and after getting through the horrendous traffic in Vegas, which actually ended up being bad all the way to California, we got to our villa, unloaded, and headed straight for the pool.

We absolutely LOVE California. We have all of our favorite food spots, beaches, and drives we always take. Its seriously our favorite place to vacation. A couple years ago, we were there with all of his mom's family at the timeshares and we stuck to our usual spots that we had always spent our time at in the past. We have always loved Huntington Beach and the main pier where we always go and dine at Ruby's, the ginormous mall directly across the street from Huntington Pier was always a must, and of course all of our favorite shops and snacks over at Balboa Island and The Fun Zone. We spent all of our beach time at Huntington where the crowds are INSANE but its what we liked. THIS trip though, revealed how much we've changed.

We hit up our normal spots but after traipsing through crowds, meandering our way through practically standing room only stores and shops, we were done. Well, after hitting up the pier and Ruby's. Katie joined us.

We ended up spending what turned out to be our relaxing free time, at state beaches, long drives on parts of the coast we hadn't seen, lots of time in downtown Laguna, and taking it easy at the resort. Mr. Superman also HAD to get his Panda Express fix after 2 years of living in a place that doesn't have it.

We loved hanging out at Crystal Cove State Beach and the incredible views. There was also a flock of Alfred Hitchcock'ish seagulls that didn't move. At all. No matter how close people got, they just stood, unmoving, staring straight out. For hours.

We went whale watching which we both have always wanted to do but in the past, I couldn't because I get so, so, SO seasick. Well, I got motion sickness patches from my doctor long before going out of town and that morning I did two patches and two Dramamine and was able to not puke. I still felt sick, but I was able to enjoy myself enough. Mr. Superman's family found out we had booked us for whale watching and decided to come along too.

We spent lots of time at Balboa Island window shopping boutiques, watching the surf, and eating. We HAD to get our favorite pizza from this tiny little, insanely cheap for insanely huge pizza slice shop and Mr. Superman wouldn't be the typical man without sneakily taking photos of me eating a chocolate covered banana. Dirty man.

We took Mr. Superman's sister Katie to Sea World in San Diego for her high school graduation gift and had a blast! We loved seeing Shamu (and all the other Shamu's?), the penguins, sharks, stuffing our faces, watching the dolphins, and illegally petting baby Nemo's. I am NOT ashamed.

Mr. Superman thoroughly enjoyed drooling over multimillion dollar yachts and me over classic muscle cars. I know, I know... Dream big.

We went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and despite HATING midnight showings, really enjoyed it. Thanks Katie for making us go!

Our last night there before traveling to Arizona, Mr. Superman took me out to downtown Laguna Beach. We ate incredible food from this AMAZING restaurant called Asada. It was hands down, no bars hold, the BEST food I have ever eaten in my life. It was gourmet so a little more expensive but so so so worth it. Both of us could not stop saying how incredible everything tasted and even though our waiter was REALLY hard to understand, he was awesome. The menu is in Spanish but we know enough that we ordered no trouble. When we got our bill, I told our waiter how amazing it was and he said, "Kobe Bryant is here all the time. You ordered what he always orders, it is his favorite, that is why you liked it so much!" I assured him I have zero love for Kobe Bryant and he said, "Is because you are not from California!" No dude, that is not why I don't like him. Anyway, it was incredible and we seriously talk about it and crave it all the time. Afterwards we walked around, found some boutiques, a crazy candy store, listened to some great street musicians, stumbled upon a PHENOMENAL art gallery, and ended it all with ice cream.

Overall, California was the perfect escape from the real world we wanted and needed. We relaxed and enjoyed being unplugged, seeing and spending time with family, and to top it off, California was REALLY good to my curls.