For my birthday this year Jason decided to do something special. He surprised me with a trip to Disneyland.

After all, nothing makes you forget you just turned another year older like spinning in those tea cups until you feel like you are going to lose your lunch.

Jason decided that just going to Disneyland wasn’t enough and that some embarrassment was also in order for my birthday. He made me wear the Disneyland birthday button. Before this trip I didn’t know such a thing existed. This rather large button elicited many happy birthday wishes from the Disneyland crew. Apparently they are trained to watch for them. I got birthday greetings from all sorts of people, even the employees emptying out trash in the bathrooms or cleaning the streets.

The most embarrassing happy birthday wish came from the operator of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In the midst of his standard “Keep all your appendages in the boat at all times.” speech he told all those in our boat, “Yell out your best yo ho ho for Captain Rachel it’s her birthday”. Everyone in our boat happily complied with his request, much to my humiliation. But even with the embarrassing moments, the birthday button was a lot more fun than I expected. Having dozens of random strangers wish you happy birthday does make you feel special, even if it is a little awkward.

Thanks Jas for one crazy, fun birthday! You just proved once again that you are the best husband ever! (I know, I know, I am slightly biased.)

On a side note, we stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. If you have the funds to do so, I would highly recommend staying at this hotel when you go to Disneyland. It’s actually located in the park so anytime you feel like going back to your room for a nap, or to pick up a jacket, or whatever, it’s only a short walk away.

The last year has been a little crazy for me and Jason. We have moved, planted innumerable plants, and installed all manner of things in our yard. Although the yard is still a work in progress, we decided it was definitely time to take a much needed break and go on vacation. We chose San Diego as our vacation location.

The weather was good for the most part while we were there but we did have a day or so of cloudy skies, referred to by Diegoites as the “June Gloom”. That didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves though. We went to the San Diego Zoo, several beaches, Cabrillo National Monument, Torrey Pines State Park, the La Jolla Sea Caves, tide pools, and some great restaurants.

Unknown to us when we panned this trip, the US Open was going on in San Diego while we were there. We decided that we weren’t too interested in attending this event anyway (sorry, golf is pretty boring to me) but we did pass by all the crazy crowds and limos at the Torrey Pines golf course. Jason claims he waived to Tiger.

Here are some of my favorite things about our trip (in no particular order):

1. Taking the top down in our rented PT Cruiser convertible. At first I was somewhat reluctant to go topless because it was a little windy out but as soon the top was down and I could feel that warm sun on my face I told Jason, “That feels really good. Let’s never put the top up again.” He thought that statement was supremely funny for some reason and has been laughing about it ever since.

   

2. Seeing a baby panda at the San Diego Zoo. It was such a fluffy, cute, little puff ball.

   

3. Watching the surfers down in the water from the pier above try to catch some waves. Most of their attempts just ended in mass ocean water consumption. It was fun to watch.
4. The meerkats at the zoo. Even though they were in a zoo these curious creatures retained their wild habits. Two of them kept a lookout on their surroundings by standing on rocks, perched on their hind legs, while the rest of the meerkats dug, played, and sunbathed. They cracked me up!
5. Eating, eating, eating!!!!! The food was spectacular. We had the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life at El Agave Tequileria. We also sampled some international fare at Parallel 33 and contemporary cuisine at Georges California Modern. I had everything from delicious sea bass covered in a creamy garlic-chipotle sauce to Aloo Ki Ticki potato cakes drizzled with pineapple mint chutney. Yum! Yum! Yum!
6. Seeing a gorilla up-close and personal at the zoo. There was only a plate of glass between us. He looked at me with obvious intelligence and I couldn’t help but notice his hands didn’t look much different from my own.
7. Sitting out on our room’s balcony at night and watching the nearly full moon rise over a silvery ocean.

   

8. Watching an Allen’s Swamp Monkey play with a Spotted Neck Sea Otter at the zoo like they were the best of buddies. It was quite entertaining.
9. Opening our balcony door at night and listening to the peaceful sound of the ocean waves.
10. Sleeping! Jason and I are pretty much sleep deprived on a regular basis. It was so nice just to be able to sleep until 9:30 or 10:00 every morning. Not being in a rush to get up was definitely one of my favorite things about this trip.
11. Sitting with Jason on the rocks at the secluded Torrey Pines beach and laughing each time the ocean spray hit us.

    

12. Running along the beach and playing in the ocean. Jason thought I was nuts for doing this because the water was too frigid for him. But I didn’t mind it, I was having fun.
13. Watching the seals lounge and stretch at the “Children’s Pool” in La Jolla. Especially the seal that tried over and over to figure out how to get up on a rock. He was never successful. Poor guy, that rock must have looked pretty good.

    

Those were some of my favorite San Diego moments.

Having been on many a great trip with my sweet husband, the best tips I could give my fellow travelers are as follows:

Get a travel book about the location you are traveling to. Now I know many of you think this is an unnecessary waste of 10 bucks, but I assure you, it will add priceless value to your vacation. When we went to Hawaii a couple years ago one of our friends highly recommended we get a travel book to help us make the most of our stay on the islands. This turned out to be a fabulous suggestion. Not only did this book rate popular attractions, it listed some of the lesser known sites that turned out to be spectacular. It also listed oodles of scrumptious restaurants.

So from that trip on, every vacation we go on we invest in a travel book or two. It’s well worth the expense. We use these travel books, amongst other things, to find the best local cuisine. The food we sampled in San Diego was unbelievable!!!!

This brings me to my last travel tip. Most travelers spend their entire budget on expensive attractions and perhaps some souvenirs. Many of these souvenirs get packed away somewhere or discarded eventually. The longest lasting souvenir you can take home with you is the ten pounds you gained eating divine food. I can guarantee that that fat will stay with you longer than any bobble head doll or oversized t-shirt.

Seriously though, most people spend every cent of their vacation fund staying at Disneyland as long as possible, or going to Sea World, or some other popular attraction. They then make up their losses by eating at McDonald’s every meal. I think if you do this style of vacation you really miss out on literally sinking your teeth into some of the local culture. Personally, I am always in favor of good food.

This week Jason and I will celebrate our seventh anniversary. I know you are all wondering how I have put up with him for that long. Just kidding, Jason is actually a rather fabulous husband and it is my privilege to be married to him.

This year it was Jason’s turn to plan our anniversary merriment. Those of you who know Jason know planning really isn’t one of his fortes, quite the opposite. But this year he put a lot of effort into planning and these efforts paid off. He arranged a surprise weekend getaway to Salt Lake City for us. Perhaps you are thinking that Salt Lake City doesn’t sound like a terribly thrilling location for a getaway, but I’m afraid you are mistaken.

We stayed at the Grand America Hotel in downtown. This is of course the only five-diamond hotel in Salt Lake City and is definitely the most luxurious hotel I have been to in these parts. Jason had reserved an executive suite for us. This suite was 880 sq feet and included a sitting room and a balcony. We were on the 18^th floor so the view from our balcony was quite impressive. Jas and I laughed a little when we realized that each night we stayed in this opulent suite it cost us roughly the same as our second mortgage payment. It definitely was a little pricey, but for a special occasion, such as this, it was worth it.

We spent the whole weekend in approximately a 10 block radius. We went shopping at the Gateway and dined there at Z’Tejas. We also sampled the Sunday Brunch at the Grand America, rated the #1 brunch buffet in Utah. It was yummy.

For our big night out, on Saturday night, we went to Bambara for dinner and to Ballet West’s performance of Nine Sinatra Songs. Yes, Jason loves me enough to go, without complaint, to the ballet. And yes, he does make the rest of you boys look bad.

I had never heard of Bambara before but apparently it is rated as one of the top ten restaurants in Salt Lake City. The food was delicious and unique so I can see why it is highly regarded. If you ever find yourself dining at Bambara I would recommend trying the fresh fried potato chips with blue cheese as an appetizer and the goat cheesecake as dessert. Yum! Bambara is located across the street from Capital Theater so it’s a perfect place to dine before you go get some culture. It was a fantastic evening. Excellent food, good company, and throngs of men prancing around in tights-what more could a girl ask for.

There you have it, we spent the whole weekend in downtown Salt Lake City and found exquisite accommodations, delicious food, cultural opportunities, and plenty of shopping. So don’t underestimate your local scene. There is more to it than you might think.