Happy 29th week! You're definitely getting bigger, because now I'm not feeling the kicks so much as I'm feeling big stretches and pulls on my belly. You've been quite the wiggle worm in the last week, and I just love watching you bulge out little sections of my belly, and then drag the bulge across as you move. Even when you're not moving around, I can feel around on my belly and often find a little (or big!) hard lump of baby poking out somewhere. Daddy loves randomly searching for these little baby lumps too.
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| View from our balcony |
Last weekend we had our "babymoon". We drove down to Hermosa Beach, in Southern California, and stayed at the Beach House hotel. While I had been envisioning a couple of days lounging around on the beach, soaking up the sun, relaxing, and reading some good books, nature had other thoughts. We left the Bay Area, who was having gorgeous weather in the 80's (and all of our friends posting on Facebook about how "perfect" the weather was, and all the BBQ's and beach outings they were having), for a nice, thick "marine layer" of clouds/fog all weekend, and temps in the mid 60's. We didn't get any rain, fortunately, but there was certainly no laying on the beach. Regardless, the point was to spend a weekend just relaxing and doing "nothing", and that's exactly what we did.
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| Hermosa Beach, from the Pier - our hotel is just right of center |
We got in early Friday evening, and got settled into our hotel room before heading out in search of food. We wound up walking into this busy restaurant near our hotel called Zanes. We figured it was a long shot, but asked the hostess is there was any availability for a walk-in. Turns out she just had a reservation for two no-show, so she was able to offer us their table instead. It was quite the lucky strike, especially since the food turned out to be really, really good. I had one of the best cioppino's I've ever had (complete with a lobster tail!), and at the end, Daddy and I split this delicious dessert of homemade churros and vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce.
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| Manhattan Beach Pier |
For the most part, we stuck around Hermosa Beach. But on Saturday afternoon we took a drive north, because Daddy wanted to check out Venice Beach. Finding parking there was impossible (unless we wanted to pay $17 to park for a couple of hours!) and people seemed to be pouring to the beach despite the weather, so we headed down to Manhattan Beach instead, where we had dinner at a place called Simmzy's. This place was small, and quite popular so we had to wait about 45 minutes for a table (not fun, since I was starving), but it was worth the wait. I had a super delicious hamburger, and sweet potato fries, and we also split this "S'mores" dessert that consisted of a rich chocolate pudding, crumbled graham crackers, and toasted mini marshmallows on top. It sounds simple, but both Daddy and I were practically rolling on the floor. We also spent some time just relaxing in our hotel room, and Daddy even painted my toenails for me, since it's getting harder for me to reach them! He did a really good job too!
Sunday we ordered "breakfast from bed", and then took a little walk up Pier Avenue to a day spa for massages. Daddy and I each had a 90 minute massage, and we both left feeling so relaxed and happy afterward. From there, we wandered across the street to a big antique store, and spent a couple of hours browsing around. I was looking for something I could use to in your nursery, but didn't really find anything appropriate (that wasn't overpriced), so we left empty handed. But the place was jam-packed with stuff so I probably could have spent the entire day in there, if I were by myself. We grabbed some lunch on the way back to the hotel, and then took a nice nap for an hour or two.
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| The Strand |
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| 13th Street - Where our hotel was located on The Strand | |
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| Redondo Beach Mural at the end of The Strand |
Then we went for a walk on The Strand down to Redondo Beach, and wandered down onto the beach itself for a stroll in the sand. Daddy took some pictures, and we checked out all of the neat houses lining The Strand, day dreaming together about how cool it would be to own one. We also stopped off at a swing set on the beach for a little goofing off and photo taking.
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| Goofing off |
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| At the 8th Street lifeguard station |
We had dinner at a place called Mediterraneo back on Pier Avenue, where they served tapas (from various cuisines, not just Spanish). Daddy really loved the baked brie, but we also enjoyed prosciutto wrapped figs stuffed with blue cheese, a little filet mignon dish, caprese, and bruschetta.
Sadly, on Monday we had to head home. But, before we got well under way we decided to stop off in Beverly Hills for lunch at the Fountain Cafe in the Beverly Hills Hotel. We got there at the perfect time, minutes before the lunch crowd poured in. Daddy had a hamburger and a vanilla shake, and I splurged on brioche french toast, a bowl of berries and a chocolate shake. What? I'm pregnant! I don't indulge like that all the time! There were all kinds of LA-types taking up the rest of the seats. I'm sure we looked like a couple of back country hicks in comparison! The woman sitting right next to Daddy had a diamond on her finger that was practically bigger than my head!
Despite the crummy weather, we had a really nice time. Now it's back to the long list of things we want to get done before you arrive!
