Vacation to LA - Part 2

Day 2 of the vacation brought us fog and chilly (for LA) temperatures. But that didn't stop us from dropping the top in our convertible to do some cruising downtown to check out the walk of fame.

 After, we got our bikes and headed from Venice Beach to the Santa Monica Pier. They have a ton of rides there and being a random cloudy Wednesday, no one was around! First stop, per Sophia's request, was the Roller Coaster. We went twice in a row - sorry, no pictures, but it was a good, stomach dropping time. We rode all of the rides at least twice, including the bumper cars, which I hadn't been on in years. It was just Sophia and I on them and I haven't laughed that hard in so very long. It was great.

 

We got a good long ride on the Ferris Wheel, though unfortunately with the fog, we couldn't see much of anything. But it was still a good time! We had a nice bike ride home, including a long stop at the park so Sophia could have some kid-playtime and then a stop at the skate park on the beach. I think she's inspired to get on a skateboard.

Weekend in the City

Dave & I had our first overnight away from Sophia this past weekend. We headed to my parents in CT on Friday and then left Saturday morning for New York City, sans Sophia. We had a big agenda for our 24+ hours alone - running, music, sightseeing and good food.

This was the longest time I had ever been away from her since she was born. (I think previously I had been out for about 5 hours or so at a Red Sox game). I knew she was in good hands with my parents and I was really looking forward to some QT with Dave.

I'm waiting on the pictures from my parents, but I know there will be tons of good ones. Here's one I snapped of Sophia "walking" with my dad:

There is always an interesting challenge when you leave - a balance on how much you check in. Call too much and you're not really "escaping" for alone time, but call too little and you might get worried.

I decided that barring any major disasters (which I highly doubted would happen - and did not) I would text with my dad when we got to the city and he would give me a wrap up text Saturday night. My major concern was whether or not Sophia would sleep through the night - she's had a serious case of teething lately and while I knew my folks wouldn't mind, I didn't want them up and exhausted with her all night (really, no one wishes that on anyone!!)

The lone phone call was Sunday morning just letting my mom know when we were going to hit the road. Happily, Sophia had slept through the night with no sign of teething. My parents had done a great job of tiring her out on the beach all day Saturday and taking her to the park. Knowing all that made the weekend even more enjoyable.

Dave and I checked out some great places - Top of the Rock, Birdland Jazz Club, ran around Central Park and Magnolia's Cupcakes (Black Forest - YUM!) but most of all, we reconnected with each other. Sure, we talked about Sophia (and noticed all the cute babies wheeling around NYC - something we had never really taken into account before) but we also vegged in Bryant Park and read the Sunday Times by the river. We even found a breakfast place that made Dave an omlet with nothing he was allergic to involved - hooray for The Barking Dog!
We didn't bring any computers and the TV in our room didn't work. I got to read part of the Tour de Lance book I'd had on my nighttable for months.

The most interesting time for me was when I went for a walk for cupcakes while Dave took a nap. I had no blackberry, no baby, no husband. So I just walked, looked and took it all in. Sure, I got a little misdirected (dang grid system!) but I found the cupcakes. And it took longer than I expected, but even without a text, Dave knew I'd make my way back. Of all places, New York City is the best to just look around and take it all in. It was very freeing.

We got back to my parents mid-day on Sunday and there was nothing better than seeing Sophia smiling and kicking when my mom brought her down from her nap. She just wanted to snuggle and hug us. That makes it all even sweeter.

Can't wait to do it again.