Californ-I-A

Bryan and I had the privilege of going on a much needed vacation the first week of June. Bryan competed in the World 2011 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Championship in Long Beach, CA. He went as a spectator to this event last year and decided at that time that he would compete the next year and that I would accompany him. So, he made it happen! The competition began on Thursday (June 2) and lasted until Sunday (June 5). Bryan flew to LA on Wednesday because he did not know until Tuesday, which day he would be competing. I flew out on Thursday because Isaiah still had school until then. Luckily, Bryan competed on Friday so I was able to be there and video his matches. He did very well, winning the first match by points and losing the second match to judges decision (which was totally incorrect, might I add). While we had wished he could have "gone all the way" in the competition, we were glad to be free to begin our vacation! We did go back to the tournament on Saturday and Sunday morning to see some of Bryan's buddies compete.

We started out our sight-seeing in Hollywood. We hit Santa Monica Blvd, Rodeo Dr, and made our way up to the famous "HOLLYWOOD" sign, which is NOT easy to get to, by the way! We did some pretty hairy driving uphill on tiny streets to get as close as we could to the sign. Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras! We then headed back toward Long Beach to meet up with one of Bryan's buddies and his dad for dinner. You'll see what Bryan and I shared for dinner in the slideshow...beautiful presentation AND delicious!!! The next day we had breakfast down by the beach and then took a stroll ON the beach. Let me tell you, that water was COLD!!! Speaking of cold...the weather was chilly the entire time. It was 65-75 degrees, which I was not prepared for! I wore a light jacket pretty much the whole time, and never got to wear my new bathing suit :0( Oh well! One of the things on MY "to do list" was to see the Staples Center, where THE Los Angeles Lakers play! It was really neat to be able to see it and now to say I've been there. It would have been much better if we could have seen a game but unfortunately the Lakers were no longer in the playoffs. I did not know, but the Nokia Theatre (American Idol) is right across the street from the Staples Center! That was neat to see too. Then, we went back into Hollywood to find the Chinese Theater, where the "walk of fame" is located (a.k.a. the sidewalk with all the stars names, in stars, on it). We walked around, caught a movie, bought some souvenirs for the kiddos and then had a very nice dinner that night. On our last day, we drove up the coast to Dana's Wharf where we were scheduled to go on a whale/dolphin watching tour that evening. We took our time, stopping at whatever we thought looked interesting. The first stop was Huntington Beach and this turned out to be probably my favorite place. It was full of all kinds of beach shops, restaurants and was RIGHT on the beach! The weather was beautiful that day too...by that I mean, warmer! We continued up to Newport Beach and stopped again to see the pier and do some "window shopping". Then, we made our way up to our destination and went on our tour. We never saw any whales, but we saw several dolphins as you'll see in the slide show. It was a lengthy tour (2 hours) and I'll admit, we both got a touch of sea sickness :0( No worries though, we made it without any problem. We drove back "home" after the tour and had a late dinner down by the beach for the last time. It was a WONDERFUL vacation and I loved having my hubby all to myself for almost a whole week! We've been back 2 weeks and I'm ready for another vacay already!

I must say THANK YOU to Grandpa and Mamaw (Bryan's parents) for coming down to stay with the kiddos. It was so much easier to go away knowing what capable and loving hands our little ones were in! They too had a wonderful time! However, Grandpa and Mamaw were worn out and ready for Mommy and Daddy to get home!!!

So, without further delay...here is the slide show of our fabulous vacation!