Coronado Island
This trip was a total surprise to me for my birthday! The back story is that for the past three years we have somehow managed to be on an island for some sort of vacation for Matt’s birthday. And apparently last year (I remember this now, but it took him reminding me…) I had made a comment about how I wanted to be “on an island for MY birthday by next year.”
On my actual birthday Matt told me we were going somewhere…mostly because he HAD to since there’s absolutely zero chance in this entire universe that with my ninja spy skills he could plan a trip, prepare the kids, get the house ready and pack for me without me knowing…nevertheless, he did a great job keeping the location a secret!
He had me pack for myself but didn’t tell me what for….which, might I add is like telling a kid to make a sandwich without giving him bread. It’s quite the undertaking for this recovering over-packer…okay fine, I know my husband will eventually read this…I’m not recovering…I still very much over pack. Every. Single. Time. I need therapy…
We took the kids to school, said our goodbyes and got in the car. First stop was coffee and then with every turn I tried to guess where we were heading…2 hours later we crossed over the bridge and he reminded me of my 2015 request for an island! Ahhhhh!!!! Yippee!
We started off by checking into our little hotel and then headed straight toward the bike rental shop so we could explore the island. We took the scenic route to the Del…which is the huge massive hotel built in the late 1800’s that Marilyn Monroe and a few presidents have stayed at. The history for that building is fascinating.
We got some ice cream, explored the property and watched the sunset huddled by a fire pit. Without kids to wake us up the next day we thought we’d get suuuuuper crazy and stay out past 9:30pm…whoa….watch out Southern CA! We went to a restaurant, split a late dinner, listened to some live music and chatted the night away.
The next day we took the bikes down main street to a coffee shop. I don’t know about other couples, but we literally keep lists in the notes app on our phones of topics to discuss whenever we get a quiet moment together. (Does anyone else do this?!?! Please tell me we aren’t the only weirdos…) Cuz you know it’s not exactly the most meaningful and sentimental approach to be having a heartfelt soul searching conversation while wiping a small toddlers rear and breaking up the latest argument over which child gets to hold the Pokemon eraser. Just sayin’….
So we keep these things written down and bust out our “Topics To Discuss” at times like this…when we are all alone and there’s no chance of someone coming up and screaming “I pooted!” right in the middle of our convo…
We sat under an umbrella at a table on the sidewalk just outside of the cute, quaint coffee shop and talked, laughed and cried together for the entire morning. Such sweet times…
Then we hurried back to catch the ferry boat to go over toward the Gaslamp Quarter for a facial Matt had secretly booked for me. It was probably the best facial I’ve ever had and although I’m never prone to exaggerate (that’s a lie) it really was quite amazing!
We then shopped around for a bit before heading back to shower and get dolled up for a night out at a fancy restaurant. You know, the kind you’d never bring your kids to…except for the people at the table right next to us who totally DID bring their kid with them and that kid had apparently never ever been taught the importance of an “inside” voice….but that’s beside the point.
Dinner was fantastic! When you catch Matt on one of his funny streaks it’s always the best time ever! And this was another one of those times I laughed so hard my sides literally hurt! Or…it could have been the “insane I’m embarrassed to admit how much and there’s NOT ONE THING we ate that was healthy, I should have worn stretchy yoga pants , let me just tell you one of the items was Lobster Mac N Cheese and another was a Molten Lava Cake, oh my word….GUILTY” food I’d eaten—but it was all such a fun time!!!!
After dinner, we stopped off at a bar and played pool. I barely lost the first two games…missing it by only one ball before he beat me. But the third game I absolutely won!!! And I know he didn’t let me win because he gets mad when he loses and he got mad! 🙂 So I KNOW it was legit!!!! And I even took a pic of what was left on the table when I won! Three of his stripes plus the 8 were still left!!! Ahhh!!! Best birthday present ever is beating Matt at pool! Just kidding honey…I’m sorry you lost and I promise I won’t rub it in (more lies).
The last day we woke up late and since we had no little people in our bed asking to watch Little Einsteins on our I-phones we laid around and read books. And not even ones about how caterpillars turn into butterflies or how little curious monkeys are always getting into trouble….but real books with big words! We then packed up, checked out of the hotel, grabbed some breakfast to-go and took it to the beach. We listened to the waves, watched the planes practicing their take-offs and landings, played frisbee, and read some more before heading back home!
