January 17th

January 17th - 20th

Sorry I've been quiet. It's been a really long, complicated week. I need a distraction, so I hope you'll indulge me as I give you the highlights of the rest of our trip (it's not everything I ate, but there are pictures of pandas). Plus, grandpa loved to laugh and joke. So hopefully I'll make you laugh a little too.

When I last wrote, I had just finished the 5k. Because Chris and I are occasionally Not Smart, we decided to go walk around California Adventure with our friends the day after my race, and the day before his. While we're making hilarious decisions, how about second breakfast of grapes and chips & salsa? (I think first breakfast was some eggs and Cheerios at the hotel? Maybe?)

The group insisted I take a before-and-after picture of the giant salad I ate for lunch. (I was hungry.)

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

I also had a slice of pizza. And calamari! And beignets! Because why not?! (Did I mention that we were walking 10 miles, on average, each day?)

Mmmm, powdery goodness.

After that we got massages, followed by beer, as one does. Then we ate at a place called Doug's, which was a rare miss on my part. It was the type of place that would have been a "fancy restaurant" in Manassas in the early 90s. So let's focus on the beer.

Thanks for making beer that wasn't all hops, Anaheim Brewing!

That brings us to Sunday. It was really, really fun to cheer for Chris and see all the costumes. I brought Tauntaun to help cheer.

Sunglasses by Brent.

After that, we went to Unami, and I had the world's most delicious plate of pickled veggies. Seriously, they were amazing.

And a yummy turkey burger. Everyone else had fries and hamburgers, but everyone else ran a half marathon.

Next stop was the San Luis Rey Mission because I love seeing the California Missions as much as I love seeing Kate Middleton's outfits. San Luis Rey was under construction, but there were still some highlights, like this gorgeous painting that I did not steal (but I wanted to).

This was a picture from the museum. I love this guy.

You do you, sir.

Let's not forget removable baby Jesus!

He is 100% removable. I tested Him for quality assurance purposes.

Or my homegirl(s), Mary:

Here are a few more shots from around the Mission. I always find them very calming.

Next was Chris' favorite part, Stone Brewery. We had lots of beer and cheese and sausage.

There was a gargoyle in a scarf.

And Chris' gift shop purchases had to be carted back in a box. Also, I got him that super cool shirt for Christmas. And he left his sunglasses in the rental car. AGAIN.

Finally, it was back to the totally precious and comfy Hillcrest House Bed & Breakfast. I want to steal this headboard.

We finished the night off with a Moscow Mule and toast to Johnny Weir (I was more enthusiastic about this than everyone else).

And some yummy hummus and veggies.

The next day started well enough in the Gaslamp district after a healthy breakfast of fruit and eggs at the b&b.

I had a drink called The Ballerina & the Czar. Again, I feel like Johnny Weir would be proud.

Lunch was served on a cookie sheet. That's a first. It included a chicken salad sandwich (I ate only half the bread), salad, and soup that I just tasted because I was full. Plus a bite of the cookie.

Obviously we were in a hipster restaurant, as indicated by this light fixture.

And we got around on the trolley, which featured lots of horrible, horrible jokes.

And then I ended up in bed for the rest of the day. Grandpa had been on my mind since I left, and that day, he was put on life support. I spent hours on kayak, trying to figure out how to get an earlier flight out of another airport, return the car in a different city, etc. without having to mortgage the house. With assurances from my dad and uncle that I should keep my original flight, we spent the last day at the zoo as planned.

This was the first shot of the morning.
I'm grateful that Chris and our friends got me out into the fresh air and sunshine.
I look really sad in this picture.

I liked the Tazmanian Devils. This one was named after my best friend, Debbie. She is also petite. I think she has the ability to be ladylike? Maybe?

Debbie was tired.

This hyena was BIG. I feel like The Lion King underrepresented the size of hyenas. Also, the picture was blurry because he kept running around.

This Andean Bear was very entertaining. Here he is playing with a...thing? There was food inside, and it looked like maybe it was Cheetos. It turned out to be carrots. Sorry, Andean Bear.

This panda may have been fake. Or dead. It didn't move. Chris and Brooke had a long discussion before hand about Are Pandas Lame? Bai Yum seemed to underscore Chris' point that yes, pandas are lame.