Our [not so] Suprise Trip to California!!!

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat:  Dustin, dear darling husband o-mine, SUCKS at keeping secrets!  For months, my friend Catherine (aka Cate) and I had been planning a surprise trip to California to see our long-time friend, Mandy, for her birthday.  We bought our plane tickets, had been deflecting any inquiries about when we would get to see her next, made fake plans to ward off any suspicions, made arrangements with her family, and were on our way.  Mandy had NO idea................................. until Dustin posted "I hope you're having fun on your trip to California.  Love and miss you!" on my Facebook page.  Fail.

BUT luckily, that didn't stop the fun.

Cate and I flew into LA and spent the night there.  Our hotel was within walking distance of Universal Studios and Universal City Walk, so after a well deserved nap, we hit up City Walk!

After wandering up and down [and eating some yum-tastic frozen yogurt] we landed in a dueling piano bar.  It was the first time I'd been to one, and I certainly hope it isn't the last.  All of the musicians were great and highly entertaining [especially when you tip them, OR when a spider happens to run across the keys] and so were our fellow audience members.  Imagine, if you will, three grown men singing along to 'Like a Virgin'... then add alcohol.  Pretty funny experience!

The next morning we got up bright and early and rented a car to drive to Fresno!  Unfortunately, car rental companies don't care if you're going to be 25 in THREE DAYS.... they still make you pay the extra fees for being in the 21-24 age group.  But that didn't stop us from getting the car and heading up the highway.

After a lot of channel surfing on the radio [unless you're fluent in Spanish, good luck finding a solid station driving along that highway!] and countless lane changes and honking horns we stopped off for some lunch.... just to make Dustin jealous.  And who doesn't love a little In-n-Out?

Because our surprise had been leaked, we quickly met up with Mandy and her Mother instead of waiting around to make a grand entrance.  That night we had dinner with the Birthday Girl and made plans for the rest of our stay.  The following night we went to Bullfrogs Bar & Grill where I was in for a fabulous night of people watching and water drinking [I am an extremely talented DD, if you didn't already know].

Over the next several days we spent time with Aiden... because he's the center of attention... always, we went shopping at the biggest Forever 21 store I've ever seen, roamed a couple malls, went to a few movies and had some amazing food with great company.

Our long trip didn't seem long at all until the day we had to fly out.  Nothing can prepare you for an early flight followed by a 4 hour layover, followed by a final flight on a rickety old 'Idaho Vandals' painted plane.  I'm just glad that our plane touch ground safely in our intended location and not somewhere along the highway.

All in all I'm so happy that Cate and I were able to take a mini vacation and spend time with Mandy and her family.  We've been friends since we were in diapers... literally... and it's fun to get together and relive old memories and make new ones together.  I'm so glad that we have been able to keep in touch all these years!

Visit around age 15

Age 20

Age 25!