A few weeks ago

I sat in our breakroom at work watching the weather report.

I cringed when the meteorologist mentioned that it was 80 degrees in Los Angeles that very day. I needed a break from this miserable winter so bad! I sent S an email suggesting we go somewhere close in the mountains, just to get out of the inversion. He called back later suggesting we fly to San Diego the next day.

Within four hours we had our plane tickets purchased and hotel room reserved. As I sat in the airport the next day I thought how surreal this all was. Twenty-four hours previously I had no idea what this week was going to hold for me and here I was getting the escape I needed so badly! (One thing I love about S is his spontaneity...which is somewhat ironic because I am a very planned, methodical, organized person.)

As we exited the terminal at Lindburgh field we threw off our winter coats and stuffed them in a bag. The air temp was an amazing 75...something I had forgotten existed! We picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel on Pacific Beach.


This place was AMAZING! S happened upon it by accident, but it's going to be hard to stay anywhere else when we go back. The day just seemed to be getting better as they upgraded us to one of their suites for a minimal cost. (S was trying to barter the cost down a bit; I ruined it by giving him a goofy grin until he agreed on the set cost...he told me later he was planning on taking the suite no matter what, just wanted to see if he could talk them down. Oops.)

The next few days were spent enjoying the mild climate and FABULOUS FOOD! Our new favorite restaurant is called Gringos. Not to be confused with the pathetic fast food joint in Utah, it is this moderate/upscale fusion Mexican restaurant. (It's off Garner and Mission Bay Blvd. in case you are ever in the area.)

Also, we went to the zoo for the first time together. It had been at least 15 years since either of us had been there and something about there not being many crowds (and not being a kid) made it such a great experience. It makes me willing to give Sea World another chance sometime.

In the end, I swear that this vacation saved my life. We got out of the yucky cold inversion and into some much needed sunshine. I let the waves of the ocean lull me to sleep each night and the damp ocean air heal my cracked, dry winter skin. I forgot about all of my worries back home. And when something that was irking me did come up, S was really good to let me just vent about it.

If there was any glitches, it would be that we were stuck in the airplane in San Diego for an extra hour waiting to see if the fog would lift back in Salt Lake (it didn't...we still landed in the worst fog SL international has seen in awhile. The pilot said that the plane was equipped to be able to land itself. I questioned whether or not anyone had really TESTED this prior to this evening to make certain.) So yes, landing in zero visibility? Not so much fun; but a small price to pay for such a great vacation.

Next year I'm thinking of spending the entire month of January in SoCal!