So, I got a great deal a few months ago on a house rental in Southern California (thanks Groupon). We ended up getting a Bayside rental home in Mission Beach, CA . We went over the last weekend in Oct. with my Mom and Tony and of course the girls.
We flew over on Friday the 28th in the afternoon. The flight was great, nice and short. It was Hazel’s first time in a plane and she thought it was awesome. She didn’t seem scared at all, in fact she was floored by how tiny everything was and kept pointing at the land below, out the window. Fallon was also great, no fussing, no rotten. They were wonderful.
Tony rented a minivan *shudder* but it was nice to have wheels we could all fit in safely. We found the house without issue but the house had a lock box on it so we could get in without someone from the rental company present. They sent me the code via email before we left. However, when we got to the house, the code didn’t work. The rental place was so cool. They had it hooked up to their computer system so they just reset it. Took like a minute and we were in. The house was amazing. Totally immaculate, great view…just….beautiful.
We stayed until Monday Oct 31st and let me tell ya…it was a real rough life.
We got up whenever the girls woke up, usually 7-8 (much better than the usual 3am). We’d bum around a bit and then walk to the little coffee shop about a mile away (actually we pretty much walked everywhere). It was a cool little place with the most amazing pastries. My mom and I restrained each other so I don’t know if they tasted as good as they looked. But, she also showed me two places (still standing) where she lived when she was in Cali. I’ve got the pics in the gallery for the trip. Pretty neat stuff.
After coffee, we’d workout-Yay workout buddies! On Sat, we did a workout video with the windows open. It was really cool, we had the ocean and the folks going by on the bay-walk. The windows were open with the ocean breeze coming in. Amazing. Sunday, we went to this gym right down the street and got a day pass which was a ton of fun. I had forgotten how much I love lifting.
We ate out a bunch and all the places were really good. When we arrived Friday, we went to a little place right on the beachside called World Famous. Our food was pretty darn good but for the record, their dessert leaves something to be desired. Sat lunch was at Sportsmens’ Seafood (fish and chips place) where we watched the gulls, the ships come in and the folks on their stand-up paddle boards. Sun was a place called Saska’s…delish burgers.
After foods, we’d go pass out at the house for a couple hours. When we woke up we’d make a meal at the house which was also fun. We got way too much food from a place called Ralph’s (cool underground parking garage). The house was like fully loaded (I think they had more kitchen crap than I do) and had a BBQ grill.
After dinner we would hang out, or go for a walk or go browse some shops….pretty amazing. On Sunday, we walked to Belmont Park and Scotty, Fallon and I rode the Giant Dipper. It’s a rollercoaster that’s been around since like the 1920′s and it’s super fun….well, unless you’re Fal. She was totally terrified the whole time and was holding onto the bars for dear life. Poor baby. Hazel rode the carousel with Grandma and thought that was great.
We went shopping after the rides and got some cool stuff. The house was done in a nautical theme and I loved it. Nothing was overdone or cheesy and it inspired me to do our bathroom (which until now was a conglomerated disaster of styles and color) in a beach theme. I found some cool stuffs for that at a place called Wings. It’s just a tourist shop inside Belmont Park but had some cool finds.
That night we got back to the house and it got incredibly foggy/wet so all these snails and slugs came out. Grandma picked em up and let the girls hold em and boy did they love that. “Ewwww…they’re slimy….Tee hee hee, they tickle!” Hilarious.
All in all, it was an incredible trip. Great time with the fam, good food, great experiences. The whole walking everywhere thing was so cool. It was pretty hard to come home. For me, I think a taste of the reality of the life I’m trying to build was both terrifying and inspiring. Here’s to the good life….
OH YA..and Pics are here.