Final Installment of the 2014 Hedrick California Adventure

I know I said there would be four installments about our trip to California and I know I took five days off between posts but there is another adventure I’ll tell you about tomorrow that got in the way of this adventure. Confused? Great so am I. let’s move on.

So I told you about our time in San Diego, the rip-off that was Legoland, Disneyland, and our baseball games. After four days in Anaheim and the happiest place on earth (Angels Stadium) we headed off for Newport Beach. Mandy found this great little hotel that was in the northern part of the city away from all the touristy crap around the pier. It was a four-lane highway and row of houses away from the beach. Literally a two minute walk from feet hitting sand. We arrived at the hotel before check-in but the gal up front told us to drop our gear at hotel, she gave us a parking pass and we headed for the beach. Two quick things about the beaches we hit, Coronado and Newport, the sand was better at Coronado and I liked the vibe of the island a little more but I wanted to really get away it would be Newport. The beach was bigger but not as busy, it was just laid back and relaxing. I have never had so much fun doing nothing. 

Yes we were having fun. Sun was bright and I forgot sunglasses.

We gave the boys sand toys and entertained themselves for the next 6 hours. It was run in the water, build castle, build a moat, build a mountain, chase the waves, have the waves chase them, watch the birds dive in the ocean and look for seashells. Mandy’s friend that lives in the area even came down with her husband and daughter to hang out for an hour or so. (Thanks Red and Paul, we had fun). We were in the sun and surf for almost six hours. When hunger finally grabbed ahold of us we decided it was time to head to the hotel so we could shower and get some dinner. 

Now here is the part where I don’t like Newport. We decided to eat at the pier at a Place called Ruby’s that is out over the water at the end of the pier. Great food, great view and great service and the smore’s shake alone was worth the trip.

However, the traffic was awful. All the bad things you hear about the beach crowds in California was manifested in this area. It took 30minutes from our hotel to park and its maybe three miles down the road. Just crazy busy. In Newport’s defense it was Saturday night and we were there around 530 but still, not a fan of the actual town part of Newport.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to grab our jackets and say good-bye to the beach and California.  We meandered down the beach to a rocky outcropping that was jutting off the beach into the ocean. On our walk we looked at all the sandcastles that had been built during the day. We watched how high the tide was coming in. The boys looked for more seashells while Mandy and I soaked it all in. What a great relaxing way to end our vacation.

It was about the time we were getting ready for dinner that Mandy and I realized that she and I were crispy. I mean burned. Have you ever seen a lobster after it’s been in the pot for a minute or two? Have you ever seen a University of Utah (GO UTES!) jersey? Then you have seen how red her back and the top of my arms/shoulders were. To this day we are trying to figure out how we were burned so badly. We applied sunscreen at least three times. We were there almost 10days ago and my arms are just barely starting to feel normal. It was brutal trying to sleep that night and even worse the drive home while being burnt is no Buenos.

Drive home was just lovely. The car sputtering just outside of Cedar City(still think it was something on the grill of the car that wasn’t allowing air to flow), an hour delay in Beaver because of construction and we discovered that Connor gets motion sickness on car rides (sorry buddy that is my fault. I still get carsick sometimes). If you are ever north of Fillmore about 30 miles heading north you might see an Ipad cover soaked in vomit still there. Sorry I know you shouldn’t litter but there is no way that was making the trip home with us. Pukey clothes in the trunk were bad enough there was no way we were dealing with an Ipad cover that wouldn’t come clean. Side note, those covers are like a sponge if liquid ever hits it. We arrived home later than we wanted but we were home safe and that was all that mattered.

We have had many vacations over the years but I will tell you this was our best. The baseball, Connor overcoming fears on rides, the boys really starting to “get” big rides, the food, the beach, the baseball,  WWII aircraft carriers, meeting Captain America, the monorail, baseball, and Newport. We put over 2,000miles on Mandy’s car and I am sure as a family we will remember most of those for years to come.