This summer will be our 25th Wedding Anniversary! Since we won't be together during our actual Anniversary, Rick and I decided to book a trip early. We were looking at all sorts of exotic and expense options, but then opted for an inexpensive trip not far from home. Part of the reason for this is so that we can put that money towards some much needed home renovations. Anyway, the important thing is just getting away together. We went to Newport Beach and had a great time! We headed out Monday morning around 7:30 a.m. We saw this beautiful rainbow on our drive!
We ran into some traffic problems a few times and so it took longer than expected to arrive. We finally arrived around 3:00 and checked into Marriott's Newport Coast Villas. They were really nice! They had two bedrooms -- one with a King Bed, one with a Queen bed, two bathrooms, and a good-sized living room with a pull-out Queen couch and furnished kitchen. The bathroom had a giant tub and a huge shower with two heads. We took a nap and checked out the resort.
We went out to eat at Outback Steakhouse. It was delicious! Then we went grocery shopping to buy food for the next several days. Jared called us while we were shopping and we visited with him for quite a while. We just relaxed and watched a movie that we had checked out from the front desk.
Tuesday we had a yummy breakfast of fruit and yogurt. We planned to join one of the exercise classes but couldn't find it. But we still got plenty of steps in walking back and forth from our room to the main area where the pools were located. It was beautiful out -- perfect weather -- and we enjoyed our walk.
We then attended a time-share presentation. This is how we got such a great deal on our vacation! Normally a stay such as ours would have cost over $2000.00, but we got our whole stay for only $200.00 if we agreed to sit in on a timeshare presentation. Totally worth it! The sales lady, Yvonne, did an excellent job, but there is no way we would spend $25,000 for travel points! They also gave us a $50.00 voucher to be used at any Marriott.
We then went and took a little nap and went swimming and then watched a movie in their little theater called "Isn't it Romantic?" Janika and Brandon had just watched it and recommended it. I liked it (other than the language) but Rick wasn't a fan.
Tonight we went for a walk at a nearby state park that overlooked the ocean and then drove by the Newport Temple.
Wednesday we decided to go to Knott's Berry Farm! It was fun and the weather was perfect. Rick purchased some package that included four meals at the park for one of us (me) and then one meal for him. The four meal deal included parking and we only needed one parking voucher. I shared my meals with him and then he got his one big meal. The food there was actually really good! We were adventurous and tried out several of the roller coasters, including one called "Hang-Time."
It was fun but we probably won't go again (unless the kids are with us). There were tons of teenagers including big noisy school groups there. We were a little disappointed in how many rides were closed. There were a few times where we waited in a long ling only to be told they were now closing that particular ride. That was annoying, but at least when one closed we were able to hurry and hop in a line to a ride that had just opened back up. We thought it was weird that they were constantly closing and opening rides though. We arrived home exhausted and then watched a movie (Rick only made it halfway though before going to bed).
Thursday morning we slept in and then packed up and headed for home! We stopped in Mesquite to see Nephi and Melissa Julien. Nephi's father had just passed away and we wanted to see how he was doing and offer our condolences. We went out to eat with Nephi and Melissa and enjoyed a nice visit. All in all it was a great trip!
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